Online grocery shopping is growing in popularity.
Looking to save time this holiday season? Skip checking your Facebook news feed during lunch and, instead, try shopping online for your groceries. Online grocery orders increased by 24 percent during the week leading up to Thanksgiving compared to last year, according to MyWebGrocer. And, the benefits extend beyond convenience and gas savings: One small study suggested that buying groceries online might help overweight people buy fewer fattening products and make fewer impulse buys.
MyWebGrocer CEO Rich Tarrant said this about the increase in online food shopping this year:
“…First, consumers have come to embrace online grocery shopping as a time saver, and everyone knows what a precious commodity time is during the holidays; it’s easier to have someone else do the shopping for you. But the second part of the story is about trust. These consumers have put their trust in the grocery retailers to provide quality goods for their most important family meals of the year. That’s a pretty powerful connection between the shopper and the grocer.”
Try these tips to make your holiday food shopping a little easier:
• Use coupons and promo codes. Sites like peapod.com double all manufacturer's coupons (up to $.99), plus they have a “specials” section. Of course, don’t forget the old stand-by trick, Googling a retailer’s name and “promo code” (we found a $15 off first order at Peapod on CouponCabin.com).
• Surf for sales. These sites will help whether you’re hitting the grocery store or shopping from your desk: MyGroceryDeals.com, Coupons.com, MamboSprouts.com, Sam’s Club Click ‘n Pull program for members.
• Stay on budget. One of our ShopSmart editors waits until the end of her online shopping to see what her total is and then she knocks off extra items that aren’t essential for what she’s cooking that week.
• Find the best deals. We recently sent out our secret shoppers to Targets, Walmarts, and supermarkets across the country to check prices on more than a dozen popular everyday items you probably have on your grocery list. We also checked out Amazon.com and other sites that sell groceries to see if you can buy the same items for less online. The results? Online grocery shopping is convenient, but it can cost you more compared to Target and Walmart’s brick and mortar locations. But online grocery shopping is getting more sophisticated and sites like ShopOrganic.com offer you vegan, raw, gluten-free or kosher items. You can buy in bulk without the warehouse club fees at BuytheCase.net, and look for hard-to-find items at My Brands.com and eFoodDepot.com.
• Get on the list. Use your designated coupon email address to sign up with different retailers, so you can receive promotion codes and the latest scoop on sales.
• Go generic. In our most recent price study, we saved an average of 30 percent when we filled our cart up with store brands. In fact, we found that store brands cost 7 to 60 percent less. And don’t worry about sacrificing taste for price—our trainer testers evaluated 21 pairs of everyday foods and found that the national brands won seven times. The store brands won three times and the remaining 11 taste-offs were ties!
Find more tips on trimming the cost of your holiday meals at ShopSmart.
Online Grocery Orders Bulging [Progressive Grocer]
—Nicole Sarrubbo
