5 Reasons To Love Online Grocery Shopping
Like doing the laundry and tidying up the different rooms of your home, shopping for groceries is a household task that needs to be done on a regular basis.
It's essential to keep the fridge filled with all the meat, vegetables and fruits you need to whip up delicious and nutritious meals. The pantry should be continuously stocked with snacks and other staples, too. And of course, cleaning supplies and personal care items have to be replenished.
While spending time walking through the supermarket aisles and browsing through the shelves has long been the standard practice for buying your household's needs, there is one innovation to the process that is certainly worth trying out today: online grocery shopping. It can change the way you accomplish this task and introduce a world of convenience that can positively impact your life in a number of ways.
How does it work?
Previously, the only way to get your groceries without stepping inside the supermarket was to call the store to place your order and have the items delivered to your home.
This, however, comes with some problems. When ordering groceries through the phone, there is often some level of miscommunication that takes place between the customer and the grocery store staff, and ordering errors are made. Sometimes, calls would not be received at all. The customer had no way of checking and comparing the prices of different products, or finding out what other items are available as potential replacements.
All in all, this process was chaotic and highly unsatisfactory for any customer.
Today, however, enterprising companies have created websites and apps that you can use to order groceries in the comforts of your own home or while on the go. You can pick out your items, schedule the delivery time, pay through electronic channels, and wait for the order to arrive at your doorstep.
Interested in experiencing the convenience that online grocery shopping can bring? Here are five things that you'll love about this exceptional service.
1. You only need to make your shopping list once.
How many times have you written out an entire grocery list on a fresh sheet of paper or your phone? You won't have to keep repeating this task when you order from a website or app. Most of these online services offer the option of saving your order or favorite items for your next transaction. You can then choose your saved list so that none of your most frequently ordered items will be forgotten.
That's time saved for other important errands that require your attention.
2. You can check your pantry for things you don't or still have at home while loading your cart.
At every trip to the grocery store, you're likely to pick up an item or two that you may not yet necessarily need, all because you didn't have time to check what you're running low on before you had to head off to the store.
But if you order groceries on a website from your laptop at home, you can put items in your virtual cart as you're looking through your fridge and pantry to see which items need replenishing. This way, you won't be second-guessing your purchases or spending more on multiple items. You'll be getting only the things you actually need.
3. You won't have to spend more for exceptional service.
You may think that experiencing the convenience of having your groceries bought and delivered for you means that you'll be paying more, but think again.
You'll find that the best online supermarket services offer zero markup to benefit customers. This means that the price of an item you would typically buy at Al Adil Supermarket Discovery Gardens, for example, is the same price you get when you order the product online.
4. You can receive your order in no time at all.
Some on-demand grocery delivery services can deliver your order within 60 minutes. You won’t need to wait until the next day or days after to get your food and supplies.
So if you had to put together an impromptu dinner for some visiting relatives, or if your little ones requested a particular after-school snack, and you don't have all the ingredients you need at home, you can still get what you need without rushing out to the store in a hurry. Order online and you'll have your supplies delivered to you in a jiffy.
5. You won't need to endure heat, traffic, and long queues to get your much-needed supplies.
Lastly, some people find shopping in person at the supermarket therapeutic, or a great way to be productive. However, the reality is that going on a grocery run does come with some discomforts.
Sometimes, you won't feel like driving out to the store when it's hot or humid. Getting stuck in traffic on the way to the store is no picnic. And regardless of whether you only need to pick up a few items or you'll be pushing around two shopping carts filled to the brim with groceries, queueing to pay for your purchases can be exhausting.
You can shop for groceries online while in bed in your pajamas. It's a task you can do during your lunch break at work or after you've put down the baby for a nap. The greatest convenience that this service provides is that it enables you to get your groceries without all the work it usually entails.
Supermarket Shopping Made Simple
Grocery shopping may be a chore that you'll need to do every few days or weeks, but now that technology has made buying food and supplies online possible, it's no longer as time-consuming or tiring as it was before. You may even find yourself looking forward to your next shopping "trip" done entirely on your laptop or phone, and the arrival of your goods straight to your doorstep.
AUTHOR BIO
Xavi Nunes is the Co-Founder and CMO at El Grocer, a digital platform for grocery stores and specialty and gourmet shops in the UAE. The company is reinventing the grocery shopping experience, integrating the best local stores into the mobile-first environment.
