*This article has been updated in 2017
I have gone to BJ’s and Costco for years in order to buy products in bulk, primarily to avoid going to the grocery store too often. I still had to lug the 24-pack of bottled water and enormous quantities of paper towels out to my car and then from my car into the house, but at least I could buy enough to last us a while. All that has gotten much simpler with online grocery shopping. It can be a bargain (but not always), you can order any time of day or night, and it is delivered right to your door. I love it.
Online grocery shopping has been around as long as the internet, but it wasn’t offered in many areas and was often expensive and very limited. Now, many online competitors have entered the grocery business making buying groceries online easy and driving prices down. In many articles predicting food trends for 2015, 24/7 grocery delivery is supposed to take off like gangbusters.
I’m aware of seven major online grocery sites that currently lead the pack. You can browse food categories just as you would in the aisles, or you can enter the name of the exact item you want if you know it. Most grocery sites allow you to compare prices among competing products, as well as access any store promotions or coupons being offered. You can also easily compare prices from site to site. You can create and save your grocery lists to make shopping even quicker and easier next time.
One word of caution – be sure to look for additional charges like membership fees, high delivery charges and minimum-order quotas.
Amazon Grocery carries an extensive inventory. They also specialize in hard to find gourmet foods. Need XO sauce for an Asian dish? Need macadamia nut oil? You will find it on Amazon.com. It also has products for special diets like vegan, kosher and gluten-free. It carries everything from beverages to meats. Shoppers can subscribe for regular deliveries (every one, two, three or four months). Shipping is free for Amazon Prime, or you can sign up for Amazon Pantry Prime. Items coming from independent sellers are not eligible for free shipping, and the shipping can add up.
Amazon Fresh has recently been launched in New York City, Seattle and San Francisco as a way to compete with almost every company in the food business as far as I can tell. This behemoth company is leaving no stone unturned. Amazon Fresh is offering free (on orders over $50.00) same-day and early morning delivery, ordering from their enormous selection now including fresh produce, and ordering from your neighborhood shops and restaurants. You can order from their website or mobile app.
ShopFoodEx, founded in 2002, has an inventory of over 11,000 items to order, as well as a limited supply of bulk-order items. They also carry hard-to-find grocery items and seasonal and limited edition products. You can shop aisle to aisle, as if in a real supermarket. It is a user-friendly website. It operates in all 50 states and many countries around the world. You can make lists on the site and take advantage of seasonal specials. Shipping starts at $8.99 based on the order size and where you are located.
Peapod, founded in 1989, is one of the first online grocery store companies. It offers services in twenty-four metropolitan areas in the U.S. Its supermarket partners are Stop & Shop and Giant Food Stores. On the website, customers must create an account which will allow you to save shopping lists or items in your cart if you want to come back at a later time. You can add items to that ongoing cart every time you run out, like jotting it down on the magnetic notepad on your fridge. Choose a delivery date and time. In most areas customers can place orders seven days a week for delivery the next day. Customers can also order up to two weeks in advance.
FreshDirect is another of the early online grocery companies. Like Peapod, customers must open an account. FreshDirect claims to be a middleman between farmers and you, delivering the highest quality food with the freshest ingredients. The drawback is that they are available in just under 1,000 zip codes but are continuing to expand. They offer fruit, vegetables, meat, seafood, dairy, baked goods, flowers, groceries, fresh pasta, deli and cheese selections, lots of frozen foods, pet supplies and even wines and spirits. It has by far the most comprehensive grocery list of all the online companies.
FreshDirect has mobile apps.
Walmart is not a delivery service. You order it online, they will pack it up and you pick-it up. Walmart tends to have the lowest prices among the online grocery sites. There is a wide selection of brand-name packaged foods, including special diet foods for vegan and gluten-free diets. They offer their in-house brands for very low prices, and many items are offered both in standard or bulk sizes. This is a growing service and is not in every area. Check with the link to see if they are in your neighborhood.
For a slightly different approach to online grocery delivery, Instacart is an upstart grocery messenger service. It is a network of freelance personal shoppers. The shoppers can pick up food from local shops in your area. It is currently available largely on the East Coast, Southern states, California and Washington. The site will let you know if they are in your neighborhood. The charge is $14.99 for delivery within one hour and $3.99 for non-rush orders over $35.00. There is a $10.00 minimum order.
The one major hurdle these online grocery companies still have to get over is offering fresh produce and making it appealing to order. Most consumers are wary of trusting a large company to choose their produce for them, and there is no guarantee of its freshness. This has enabled new companies to emerge that specialize in bringing seasonal fresh farm produce from the farm right to your door. Consumers are flocking to sign up for these companies’ services – they trust a CSA-type operation with their produce because it’s guaranteed to be fresh. Watch for our upcoming article on those ‘farm to your doorstep’ delivery companies.
Eat Your Vegetables discusses Community Supported Agriculture, and services that include home delivery of vegetables, dairy and meat options.
