Buying Groceries Online - Why Does It Seem Like Such A Weird Idea To Buy Groceries Online?
There are thousands... actually millions of us out there that have become accustomed to the manner in which commerce is performed online, and are very comfortable buying things online from a pair of shoes that you can't put on your foot or take a step in to that $300 electronic gadget you bought from that guy in New Jersey with a feedback of 4.... but why don't we trust the grocery stores we have already been doing business with for years?
We, as online shoppers, have no problem buying used items on eBay, but when the vast majority of online shoppers are asked if they have ever bought groceries online, a ridiculous majority of us have never even tried it. It just doesn't seem right, or how are they going to ship my milk?, or I really don't care for a full bag of pulverized Cheetoh powder are common reasons many online shoppers have stated that they have not even tried buying groceries online.
If you put a bit of thought into the subject though... it starts to make a little sense.
Why would a grocery giant like Safeway, or an online giant such as Amazon.com even consider risking their incredible reputations by not being able to do a good job delivering groceries that have been ordered online. These are big companies with lots and lots of rich guys trying to decide how to make more and more money. They aren't going to allow a company to alienate customers by giving them a poor online grocery shopping experience.
For one thing, online grocery stores set up a timeframe window with you for grocery delivery when your order is placed online. That way you can ensure that groceries aren't sitting outside all day. Plus, frozen and refrigerated items are packed with dry ice to ensure the groceries will stay cold until they are put in your refrigerator or freezer.
One can also save quite a bit of money online. A lot of online grocery stores run the same specials online as they do in their brick and mortar stores on a week to week basis, which ensures you can always get cheap groceries online. Some online grocery stores also have Internet only deals that will allow you to save more money.
When it comes to shipping... that also seems to be something that people think is going to be outrageous. These people would be wrong though believe it or not. Many online grocery stores charge a flat delivery fee of $4.95 or some similar amount. Some of them do require that you buy at least $50 worth of groceries in order to place an order... but really.... who can't find $50 worth of groceries these days?
So I urge you, next time you see the cupboards getting a little bare, or notice that you have already pounded that giant bag of goldfish that you just bought 2 days ago, there are alternatives that don't require you to drive through a busy parking lot, weave a cart in and out of busy people, go back and forth all over the store because you keep forgetting items... in fact, you don't need to leave your couch... though you probably should.
The author of this article maintains
WebGroceries.org, an online resource and directory offering reviews of several online grocery stores.
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