Pros And Cons Of Online Grocery Shopping

I can drink a coffee while I place my order                                     Image:Pixabay

Although I rarely buy clothes and the like via my laptop I just love being able to do my grocery shopping online. I don't have a car these days so I especially appreciate getting my groceries delivered to my kitchen. Even when I had a car I ordered online a few times and I loved not having to search for a car park or battle with a trolley that had a mind of its own.

Before I start with my pros and cons I'll just mention specifics are for the supermarket I deal with and the details will be different for other supermarkets and other regions. Even my supermarket has made some changes to how they operate their online grocery shopping (for example their delivery fees) in the 3 years I have been regularly ordering online.

Why I love online grocery shopping -

1. I can order from the comfort of my home as I drink a cup of coffee. This is much more pleasant than dealing with a crowd of shoppers, dodging around staff stacking shelves, marking down goods and the like. And in school holidays, well, need I go on?
2. I can schedule delivery for a time that suits me.
3. If I work it right I can avoid paying a delivery fee. Sometimes I do pay for delivery because my order is under $150 but I only pay $4 as I choose a 6am-2pm or 2pm -10pm time slot. This wouldn't suit everyone but it works for me.
4. It is easy to see which of the items I regularly buy is on special so I save money by stocking up.
5. Using the search bar is sooo much easier than walking up and down aisles in a supermarket in search of a product.
6. It is easy to compare the unit prices. Sometimes in the supermarket it is difficult to read this information on the lower shelves, yep my eyesight isn't good.
7. If I change my mind when ordering I can click remove instead of taking an item back to where I got it from. (I never feel right about abandoning an item on any old supermarket shelf.)
8. I can add items to (or remove them) from my order up until a few hours before delivery time.
     
   What I don't like about online grocery shopping -

1. I can't pick out my own fruit and veg. In my early days of online shopping I ordered bananas a few times and received the biggest I have ever seen. I mean they were enormous. I now buy most of these items from the Sunday market or a greengrocers in another suburb where goods are bargain priced and I pick out what I want.
2. I don't get to select the meat I want. The chops may be the wrong size or have more fat on them than I like.
   I once ordered a pork roast which was supposed to be approximately 3kg. The one that was delivered was over 4.5kg and didn't fit in the largest size oven bag. I cut some of the meat off to make it fit but this wasn't very satisfactory. Also, as the cost is per kilo I had to pay much more for the roast than I had planned. I complained and was given a voucher which appeased me. However, I now buy roasts in person.

For me, the advantages far outweigh the disadvantages and I will continue to do my grocery shopping online.