Shopping for groceries online is a habit that fits both our busy lives and the retail trends. The dedicated e-commerce websites come forward with virtual product lanes where the customers can digitally browse their offers – some even provide chat facilities to help clarify potential problems or any incertitude during the selection or the acquisition process.
The benefits and disadvantages of online grocery shopping differ from case to case – it all depends on the personal choice, the daily schedule and the adaptability of each client. Ranging from food industry businesses to individual shoppers, the potential customers may find it easier to get their fresh products or ingredients this way, or, on the contrary, they might perceive as weird and unfamiliar the idea of getting fresh products without employing their smell or tactile senses during the selection process.
The trend of shopping online for fresh products gains traction, as more and more people consider it convenient and appreciate how comfortable it is – in a poll on their page, the above source registered a percentage of 45% voters that are happy with this type of getting their groceries. The percentage is not spectacular, but it indicates favorable auspices for fresh food web stores.
Five listed benefits of shopping for groceries online:
- Comfortable, effort-free process: shopping online generally eludes the stress of physical shopping; no more walking or driving, crowds are avoided, home delivery can adapt your schedule and needs;
- Cheaper products: as a result of subtracting the costs of gas and parking (where the alternative shopping method would be driving to the closest store), the money spent on groceries would total a lower invested sum;
- Fresher products, in a wider variety and at a higher quality: since the products do not need to be on display, the depositing conditions are adjusted for preservation rather than for aspect; each store regulates its merchandise flow to avoid surpluses and manages to offer the freshest produce on each delivery;
- More personal quality time: spending your free time navigating in a grocery store might not be everybody’s recreational dream; a customer that masters online shopping (established his/hers favorite e-store and goes through the entire process rapidly) saves precious time that can be converted into quality time spent with the loved ones, relaxing or doing other entertaining activities, from sports activities to meditating or enjoying cultural moments;
- Better customer care services: in their strive to offer the best, established or emerging grocery providers offer attractive customer facilities; it is better to make sure customers have their orders right than having them return the products, therefore online stores invest in staff that takes care of their customers’ preferences and choices;
Five listed disadvantages of shopping for groceries online:
- The effort of making your purchases may just shift instead of disappearing, either because the e-store that delivers to your area is not the most efficient, either because its website is faulty, or the customer is not at ease with digital shopping;
- Picky buyers might just feel uncomfortable with other people selecting their fresh groceries for them; some people have intuitive, personal selection habits and they like to do things themselves – it is clear how online shopping would be difficult for these types;
- Depending on the delivery method, getting your merchandise in the optimal time window may be tricky too; not all stores have their own delivery service, and subcontracting a separate delivery service provider comes with separate faults; delivery charges are also another thing to consider when ordering online;
- Lack of human contact: as in all online activities (and/or automation) that replace physical-world activities, shopping online provides predictable, efficient and faceless contacts – no friends to make and no brief chatting while selecting your groceries;
- Missing on deals and offers that target the first customer “there” – your order will be waiting in line to be processed and some promotions may expire until processing time; other types of deals are not even conceived for the online environment in the first place;
Best online groceries providers – a few examples
Bigger, well-known grocers that have extended their business online or well-known brands that have added groceries to their offer:
- AmazonFresh revived in 2017 the 90s model of online grocery shopping; it is available only in some areas (Seattle, San Francisco, partially in New York, Center City Philadelphia and Los Angeles) and it requires a special $299/year Amazon membership since October 2015;
- FreshDirect is available in the NYC (parts of it), parts of Nassau and Westchester Counties, Fairfield County – Connecticut, Hoboken, Newark, Jersey City, Philadelphia, and Pennsylvania. Founded in 1999, the online grocery business attracts customers with its quality products offered at lower prices and its efficient services;
- Instacart was founded in 2012 and innovated grocery delivery by having an associated app as its main online channel; although their associative system with pre-existing grocery firms is efficient, the company hires its drivers and delivery staff as independent contractors, a move for which it is facing a lawsuit;
- Google Express delivers the merchandise with its own branded cars; same-day delivery is available in areas such as San Francisco, West Los Angeles, Peninsula & San Jose, Manhattan, Chicago, Boston and Washington, DC for a certain charge, while other areas benefit from overnight delivery; the service covers around 88 ZIP codes; the customers are rather high end, or at least modern people, tuned into technology, since they have to possess a Google Wallet account and go through the specific membership procedures;
- Peapod is located in Chicago, Illinois and delivers to several areas such as Boston, Watertown, Massachusetts, Long Island, New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Washington, DC and others.
*One of the earliest internet startups, this business emerged online in 1996, after being founded in 1989; their order and delivery system also includes a dedicated app, and in 2012 they feature a method of ordering straight from the SEPTA Regional Rail stations and get same-day delivery of the products;
There also are smaller, independent grocers that have adopted this way of product presentation and delivery to minimize costs and better reach their clients. Many local businesses take advantage of the online ordering system, and thus speed up their operations and save funds, a thing that enables different investments (as opposed to investing in brick-and-mortar stores, product presentation and spaces), or simply helps keeping them in business.
You can check here how the web store of a smaller company looks like. They offer free of charge personal pickup or convenient home-delivery and the possibility to browse local producers and choose the preferred products.
