Online grocery shopping is changing. Smarten up! Save money and time
There are several reasons for the popularity of online grocery shopping. It is convenient, especially for people who have busy lifestyles. They can shop at any time of day or night, and they don't have to deal with the crowds at the supermarket. In addition, it is often cheaper to buy groceries online than in traditional stores. Online grocers can offer lower prices because they have less overhead costs. They also often provide coupons and discounts that can save shoppers even more money. Finally, online grocery shopping is simply more convenient for many people. They can have their groceries delivered right to their doorsteps, and they don't have to worry about lugging them home from the store.
As The Retail Gazette argues, there is an array of advantages to shopping online, from seeing more products, to having them home delivered (for free on some occasions) and to reducing your overall costs.
The team here at MyFooDen did a survey and a market reality check and we found out that people spend on average between 2 to 3 hours on grocery shopping, that being from the moment you leave your house and until you reach back.
This is a multilateral equation, of course, as there are many elements which need considering, each with its own cost, as we outline them below:
- Time spent travelling to and from the grocery store. If you use a vehicle, then there are considerations around fuel consumption and wear and tear of the vehicle.
- Time spent inside the store, going around the isles looking for the desired products. A common store strategy to get you to spend more time inside their store is to constantly keep changing the location of products. That encourages more product discovery and increases the chances of you purchasing more than you initially wanted.
- Queuing at the till. Unless you are lucky or perfectly timed, you will end up spending an average between 20 and 45 minutes queuing.
- Carrying your groceries back home. This brings limitations in itself as you cannot purchase many items, or voluminous items, or even heavy items such as several water bottles for example.
- Product availability. You can't know if you're going to find all the products on your list until you are physically in store and looking around. If you're shopping for a particular dish/recipe or follow a list, you might be forced to go to a different store, an exercise which is more time and resource consuming.
We found out that most people go to the grocery store every other day, for small purchases and then weekly for their larger and broader purchases. Considering all the factors, people can generally save around 10% by shopping for groceries online. And that is on price point only.
However, some stores may offer even greater savings. For example, MyFooDen offers a 5% discount on all items for the first purchase of a new customer, while occasionally sending flash discounts of up to 30%. So it really pays to shop around and compare prices before you buy.
One major deception some UK retailers practice is to block the mobile signal within their stores, which effectively leaves customers in limbo, unable to compare pricing or deals, Your Kitchen Supplies writes.
Online shopping truly allows you to scout for the best possible deals, drastically shortens your shopping time and reduces all associated costs to brick and mortar shopping.
What is stopping you from shopping online?