I think we have all seen the ads for online grocery shopping at one point or another; the patient looking mom busy in the kitchen making a wholesome, nutritious meal while simultaneously reciting grocery list items to a child sitting nearby with a tablet in hand, who is dutifully selecting the fruits and vegetables that Mom is listing off…But up until lately, I hadn’t really given the idea much thought.
Many grocery stores now offer online shopping like the Kroger Store’s Click List
It just seemed like another unnecessary service that probably cost an arm and a leg. Until you are actually standing in a crowded grocery store, during the middle of a busy holiday weekend, with everyone else who all apparently needed to grocery shop at the same time for the same things you need so that you can get out and finally enjoy the weekend. And why the heck don’t they put “lemon curd” in a place someone can find it? What the heck is “lemon curd” anyhow, and can I possibly substitute something in its place if I can’t find it in the next 30 seconds??
It is at that moment that it dawns on me that I could be doing all of this from the quiet of my own home and just show up as we head out of town to pick up my bagged items, and be on the way! No need to drive around the parking lot looking for a space. No need to go into the store with everyone else.
Many stores like Safeway, King Soopers, Fred Meyer, HEB, Kroger, Albertson’s, Walmart, Costco, and Sam’s Club now offer low-cost or free online ordering. It seems to be catching on as more and more stores and locations are offering this service.
So I tried it. Although the grocery store nearest to our home didn’t offer the service, the one just a mile further in the other direction did.
If crowded stores aren’t your thing, online grocery shopping might be!
I put in my order online, chose a day and time window for pickup, and then at the given time, showed up at the store, parked in the designated spot, called the number, and within 5 minutes a cheerful store employee was loading my groceries into the car, gave me my receipt, and I was on my way! THIS WAS A GAME CHANGER!!!
The employees then do your shopping for you (THEY find where the darn “lemon curd” lives), and things are stored (including frozen and refrigerated items) until your reserved time to pick them up. You drive in, they load your car, and off you go! You have just saved yourself an hour of your day to do something else!
Other benefits of online shopping:
- Search weekly deals and coupons online and load them right there so that you save some money on your order without having to remember your stack of paper coupons.
- Suggested recipes might help with meal planning and ingredients can just load into your online cart.
- You aren’t in the store where you could have the impulse to buy things you don’t really need (we all do it!), which also saves you money.
- Once you use the service a few times, it will remember items you frequently buy, making future shopping easier.
- If you are trying to stick to a budget, the online options will show you an ongoing estimated total, so you can try to hit your target without a lot of checkout line drama.
- You can change stores, so if you are traveling you can search for one near where you are and have the same convenience of shopping online.
- You can leave specific comments on items such as “medium-sized avocados, firm” or “OK to substitute similar product if not available” so you get things you actually want.
- Many stores have their shoppers from specific departments do the shopping, so you know the produce people will find the best produce options for you.
- And, if I haven’t said it before, you never have to go in the store! This saves you TIME, and it is hard to put a price tag on that!
Now, off you go to enjoy extra time out doing what you love!
I tried to like online ordering as well as online delivery. I quickly lost my taste for both (pun intended). But, online shopping is entirely a different matter.
Preparing a shopping list online before going to the store greatly facilitates locating attractive items that you might never find in the store with +20,000 items. For example searching the keyword “organic” brings up 87 items scattered throughout my local Sprouts Market, most of which I would never have realized were available.
But nothing replaces in-store shopping for becoming aware of alternatives. The big problem with all of the above is that their computer simply cannot keep up with inventory. One online order I placed was missing 6 of the 14 items I ordered because the store did not have them even though the computer said they did.
But, beyond that, I rather enjoy the in-store experience and my little dog Flossy savors the many smells. If I ever become incapacitated I’ll change my mind. But, for now, in-store shopping with an online grocery list is my ritual.
Now I can spend more time with my playstation! I got the Dry Cleaners doing my wash, the landscapers doing my lawn, the government tells me how to vote, my boss pays me while I’m on my phone poking friends & playing games because I scare him & he doesn’t want to trigger me. who needs people anyway?
Just another way for more people to be Lazy, and to be even more than too Lazy to get out of their car and get some exercise by walking g through a store.
Ordinarily, you would be right. But think about the disabled or sick person or someone who has lost their transportation. For them, these delivery services would be a lifesaver until they get back on their feet.
Online grocery shopping for us was a game changer! LOVE IT! Not because we are Lazy…because we both work in the airline industry and around people and interacting daily!
It is nice to order online and knock one chore off our To-Do list when home!
We have also found that it also helps us stick to a budget!
I have also used the delivery one when my mom got sick , I was able to stay with her and do chores for her while she ‘shopped online’ and I had them deliver to her home.
It has allowed us to spend that time with family and not waiting around in another line somewhere .
The online grocery service has improved in the short time it has been around and the choices continue to get better ..
For working families , and areas where there is always traffic, it just relieves one less stress!
You are absolutely right! People should never judge others just because they don’t do things the same way. I had a wonderful friend who was elderly and incapacitated, could not shop for himself. So, even though I travel extensively, I used a company in San Antonio, TX called Burpy, to order groceries for him and even have the groceries delivered to him and put away, none of which he could do for himself. The charge was $4.99 for orders under $50 and no charge for orders over $50. The service was a Godsend!
Heck, if I can get more time hiking or fishing and less time standing in a line with everyone else, call be as lazy as you want! Get me outside ASAP!
have been using Walmart pickup services for a while now. Love it!
May have to try this. I hate wasting my spare time shopping for food & essentials.
Love the humor! “And why the heck don’t they put “lemon curd” in a place someone can find it? What the heck is “lemon curd” anyhow, and can I possibly substitute something in its place if I can’t find it in the next 30 seconds??”
Camping & online shopping go hand in hand. I got pets. I don’t have AC. I can’t leave my pets at the campground while I shop & I can’t take them in. I order online in my spare time, load up the dogs & get my order delivered to my vehicle. The dogs get to go bye bye with Momma & most always get a treat if the delivery person knows they are with you. I’m happy, the dogs are happy & the delivery person gets to pocket the few bucks I am very content to pay. The fee for using this service most always gets to be free with the “online/pickup specials” offered only when using those services.