Online Grocery shopping
Posted by: Vanessa 32284508
18th Jul 2022 09:33pm
I have tried this once and felt it was very time consuming. What are some pros and cons that you found when doing online shopping? Does it save you money? Is the produce always fresh?
You must be a member to reply to this chat topic. Click here to sign in.
Help Caféstudy members by responding to their questions, or ask your own in Café Chat, and you will get the chance of earning extra rewards. Caféstudy will match these and donate equally to our two chosen Australian charities.
Australian Marine Conservation Society are an independent charity, staffed by a committed group of scientists, educators and passionate advocates who have defended Australia’s oceans for over 50 years.
ReachOut is the most accessed online mental health service for young people and their parents in Australia. Their trusted self-help information, peer-support program and referral tools save lives by helping young people be well and stay well. The information they offer parents makes it easier for them to help their teenagers, too.
Comments 11
aunty gran
Initally had mixed feelings about online shopping, I did use this at times during covid but found it most frustrating mainly due to the delivery time being between certain hours. I understand the need for this but it was a bit like sitting home waiting for the tradie to arrive lol. I now use click and collect weekly. I have used both Woolies and Coles with Coles being my regular as find them a bit cheaper. The majority of the time l do not have any problems and do allow for substitutes most of which have been pretty good, but have when needed contacted and received a refund/ credit.
Benefit- l save quite a lot of money as l only get what l need hence no impulse buying.
I like the click and collect have found the staff a great deal friendlier that those at the checkout.
I do not have people encroaching on my space yes l am still covid aware.
I do not have to fight with the trolley- yahoo
My click and collect is always ready .
Time slots are always available as l do my order 24 hours in advance.
Negative- Cannot see the mark downs especially meat but l do grabbed this from my local store if need be.
I sometimes like to purchase smaller chicken breasts or other items from the deli which is not possible.
You are correct about the use by dates which initially did seem close to expiry but l have recently found this not to be the case.
Fruit and veg l usually buy at my local green grocer- mostly cheaper and usually better quality.
I do a shop at Aldi in Store about 1 month trying to stay away from those middle aisle what a trap and top up what l might need for that month as they are cheaper for some things not all though.
Will l go back to instore shopping on a weekly basis for my groceries- I think not l really do prefer to click and collect.
Anthony 123
I never thought I would use online shopping until Covid hit. I am such a fan now I would never go back into the supermarket if I can avoid it. It saves me a lot of money as I don’t impulse buy and only buy the things that I need. Really the best way to plan out our weekly venue.
BradH
I have always prefered doing my own shopping. I have done some online shops during covid and I have found that the packers dont always look at the dates on things like meat. Getting a weeks worth of food with use by in 2 or 3 days is not helpfull. They also dont always look for the freshest of fruit. Deli counter is another issue. You cant buy 3 chicken fillets and only on weight.
Shirley Fowell
I found this a lot easier and safer to do on line shopping. It save me time and worry about catching COVID whilst in the shops. I prefer Shop to Boot and have been doing this for awhile. I have not had any problems with the quality of my fruit and vegetables
Izzie
My first experience of online shopping was overwhelming and EXTREMELY time consuming. But I persevered, and now I find it pretty easy, though it does take a bit of time, but nowhere near as long as writing out a list, driving to the supermarket, shopping and getting home again.
I now use the 'list' function to keep a list of things I regularly buy, although now that I have been shopping online for about a year I hardly need to refer to it. The whole process is much more simple now.
So for me the pros are: convenience, more COVID safe, don't have to lug heavy items, quicker, a lifesaver after I had an operation and couldn't drive for a few weeks, don't have to leave home, have a good choice of delivery times, and am given a one hour window within that time frame so I can be sure to be at home ready to receive the delivery, and a very reasonable monthly delivery charge for unlimited deliveries (provided each order is at least $50).
The not so great things are: sometimes an item is incorrect or not there (though balanced by a quick online refund service), occasionally the fruit and veg is not as nice as I would like (though generally it's top notch), an accumulation of paperbags (but I give them to my local opshop and they are very grateful for them), and maybe the most annoying thing for me is the way some of the produce bags are tied - the knot can be so tight it's really hard to open them!!!
I plan to stick with it online shopping for the time being, and really enjoy NOT having to do a large shop instore.
In regard to an earlier comment, Woolworths do have a place to put in comments (eg. I may ask them for some greener bananas that can ripen over the week as well as a couple of riper ones for immediately eating) and I often ask them to only replace an item not in stock with an item that I specify. You can choose to allow a substitution or not. I sometimes ask for the other flavour or variety of a product that I would like them to subsitute if the desired product or variety is not available. And as mentioned above, if you are not happy or the wrong product comes they will refund you, and if you have been given the wrong product you still get to keep it!!!
And regarding another comment, I do live alone, and find it hard, especially now, to keep my shopping to $50 especially the way prices are going up!! If I am just under it is pretty easy to find something that's running low that I could replace a bit earlier.
Online shopping is obviously an individual choice. And one I am glad I made , and persevered with. I am also a bit older and a bit less agile than I used to be, so it is another plus for me not to have to walk every aisle in a supermarket, and when there is something I need urgently, I can still make a quick trip to my local supermarket to get an item or two, and I quite enjoy those outings and seeing what's new in the supermarket!
I can see it wouldn't suit everyone, but for me it is great, and I think overall Woolworths does a great job with their delivery service.
But I think that it could be very difficult for those who are not tech savvy. I have older friends who are like that, but their daughter puts the order in for them every week, and they are delighted with the service.
shaz
Presently unable to drive so ordering online is extremely useful. What I dislike is so many things out of stock when ordering. Get to the payment page and more things out of stock. Move on and get an email that something in my order has changed. It does not even say what the product is. Presently awaiting delivery.
Michael32294141
Not sure there is much difference in savings with online, but can be way more convenient. You can setup regular orders for basics so you don't forget them (also makes budgeting easier), and schedule pickups ( click and collect) at convenient times (like on the way home). Meats and general groceries are ok, but veggies i tend to not get online. The local markets tend to do better than the supermarkets on these items.
sophawkins
I have also tried it once! My experience was mostly negative.
I only tried it because Woolworths were offering extra reward points for shopping online.
I added everything to my cart, made the minimum dollar amount and then was told my closest location didn’t have enough of the items I wanted. I had put so much time into it so organized for click and collect at a further away store, but it was not ideal as the time block I chose (one of the only available) meant my partner had to leave work early to make it there on time - I would much rather rock up to the shops on my own schedule.
We didnt realize until AFTER we had paid that if they couldnt find the item we bought it would just be replaced with what they deemed similar. I really would prefer to have a say in this especially when toilet paper is replaced with paper towel.. I would have gone to another store if there was no toilet paper in store..
I didnt like not being able to pick fresh fruit, I am that person who picks the biggest apples and I will pick up and put one down one that is bruised! No one is inspecting the apples to your standard with online shopping.
We did seem to get some extra food, but I decided I would prefer to get exactly what I ordered and the only way to do this is to shop myself.
I enjoy grocery shopping and sometimes buying something just because I see it, its one if the ways I try new things.
So in conclusion, I wont be using the online service again unless I had no way to go to the shops myself.
Dena31948125
Online shopping is useful during quarantine, but I realised that I used to spend more money with online shopping. Products I buy were always fresh.
shelly
I have done it a few times but I wont again as I found that they dont give the latest dates for dairy products (some use by in 3 days) a lot of stock was out of stock yet when I went in it was on the shelves it took to long to get the order at the counter (10mins) no I would rather go in to the supermarket myself and that is for both Coles and Woolworths
kidwithsmurf
There are many positives and negatives when it comes to shopping online. In my opinion, it depends on your situation to whether it is suited for you or not.
Firstly, I have never used online shopping because I have never met the minimum spend ($50 for Woolworths for example) required to use it. This is because I am a spontaneous buyer and just buy things as I need them/want them which doesn't always end up being $50 a shop.
This said, I will outline a few reason as to why online shopping works for some people and not others.
It works for the following situations/people:
1. Meal prep. Meaning the person has a set weekly food plan and sticks to it. For example they spend a day planning what meals they are going to eat for the week and what ingredients they require. Likewise, have a set shopping list written out. This way this person would meet the minimum spend required, be able to go to the online website and find their ingredients/products quickly and checkout. This would make the online shopping process fast and easy with the only time consuming part for these people being planning what they want to meal prep for the week.
2. It also works for people with young kids. I say this as going to the shops with young kids is a nightmare as they always want this or that and grab this or that. It just becomes a time consuming mess taking kids to a shopping centre. Therefore, if you have kids and can online shop it makes life a lot easier.
3. If you live out of town, don't drive or can't get to a shop. Online shopping is for you. This is because shopping online for groceries will save you money and time in this instance. This is because you'd have to pay for petrol to get to the shop if you lived out of town. You'd likewise have to pay for public transport ontop of the cost of the groceries if you didn't drive. Also if you couldn't get to a shop for whatever reason, it saves time. Thus, online shopping is a godsend for these types of people.
However, all this said, it doesn't work for everyone. It doesn't work for the following situations/people:
1. People who are spontaneous. These kinds of people don't have a shopping list, do not meal prep and take every day as it comes. These people will find it time consuming to shop online and find it difficult to meet the $50 minimum spend.
2. People who live alone or don't eat much. These people will find it difficult to meet the $50 minimum spend and just end up buying things they do not require just to meet it.
3. People who are near a shopping centre anyway. It is faster just to go in and get what you require if you are already near a shopping centre anyway.
All this said, there is definitely circumstances and people Online Grocery Shopping is suited for and those it is not. Mainly if you are going to meal prep, have a weekly list of what you want and will meet the minimum spend then Online Grocery Shopping is for you. If you do not have a weekly list or meal prep, live alone or don't eat much and won't normally meet the minimum spend without buying random items... then Online Grocery Shopping isn't for you.