One morning on my way — yet again — to the grocery store, I saw Amazon Fresh in my Sammamish neighborhood. It reminded me of an e-mail I received a few days earlier announcing their online grocery order and delivery service. An hour later, after pushing my shopping cart up and down the aisles, filling it with the things my family needed for the week, and a few too many things we didn’t, and then standing in a seemingly endless checkout line, I decided to take a closer look at that e-mail.
Grocery shopping is not my favorite chore, so perhaps I am more motivated than most to justify the potential in switching to online shopping. So many could benefit from this service — the soccer mom, the work-at-home mom, the work-away-from-home mom, the single mom and the new mom. Throw in dads, anyone with a demanding job and/or long commute, new neighbors with unpacked boxes and those who are sick, tired and the merely sick and tired of grocery shopping (ME!) and you’ve got a large customer base that would literally eat up grocery delivery service.
As I questioned my friends on the subject, I found a range of opinion. One felt grocery delivery was a luxury she could not afford. Another shared that while she didn’t enjoy the process of grocery shopping, personally choosing the freshest foods available was really important to her. Another truly enjoyed the process. And yet most expressed that they would use the service in a time of crisis – for instance, an illness or transportation emergency that left them homebound. One mentioned how nice it would be during the holidays. I hadn’t thought of that!
My friend, Sandra Byrd, a busy author, wife and mother to two teenagers, used safeway.com and shared her experience with me.
“I was able to place an order for groceries to be delivered as soon as we returned from vacation, which helped me to get my house in order right away and not have to rush out and shop when I was tired,” she said.
I decided to try the services for myself and for others who might also be asking, “Is the time saved and the quality of product delivered worth the cost of this convenience?”
Of the delivery services available in Sammamish, I tried three: Safeway.com, AmazonFresh.com and spud.com (formerly known as Pioneer Organics).
As a regular Safeway shopper, I logged onto their Web site first. I entered my Safeway club card, and surprisingly, previous purchases I had made in-store were automatically downloaded into my account. If I wanted to, I could shop from that list, or aisle by aisle, or from a list of organic choices, or search for a specific item. On each product, I had the option to leave a note for my personal shopper, the person who hand picks the groceries from a local Safeway store, giving instructions, for example, in case an item was out of stock or if I wanted my bananas to be a little on the green side. I shopped in under an hour, in pjs, from the comfort of my home. What’s even better? I was able to go into the kitchen periodically and check if we were low on one thing or another, thus avoiding under- or over-buying. I also avoided impulse buying — no colorful displays and no strategically placed items to entice me into buying things I didn’t need or that weren’t on my diet.
On delivery day, the groceries arrived in the timeframe I chose and my delivery person brought my groceries directly into my kitchen. The delivery took less than five minutes, I signed and she was on her way. My order was complete. The produce was fresh and beautiful. I could get used to this!
But how much was this going to cost me? The minimum order at Safeway.com is $50, and delivery is free on the first order. Thereafter, they charge between $10 and $13, though free or reduced delivery promotions are available almost weekly. Most of my friends said they would be willing to pay something for delivery, and these charges seem reasonable.
Next, I tried Amazon Fresh, an affiliate of Amazon.com. In Sammamish, an Amazon Prime membership is required before ordering from Amazon Fresh. The membership costs $79 per year, or approximately $6.60 per month. If you are an Amazon customer, this membership will also give you free two-day shipping on qualifying Amazon products.I signed up for the free one-month trial service.
The Web site is straightforward and I easily filled my shopping cart with items I needed. Organic choices are available and clearly marked. Delivery options include attended delivery; unattended delivery, called “doorstep delivery”; and pre-dawn delivery (before 6 a.m.). If the order is at least $30, there is no delivery charge (beyond the cost of the Amazon Prime membership).
I chose doorstep delivery. They simply left my groceries on my doorstep in big yellow totes. I didn’t even hear them arrive. Inside the totes, the perishable items were packed in insulated bags with freezer packs. Amazon Fresh claims that the food will remain fresh packed like this for up to six hours, so if something unexpected comes up, you have the freedom to leave your home even if expecting a delivery.
I thought of the family at my church who just lost a loved one. A delivery of basic groceries would be one less thing for them to have to think about and I could do it without being intrusive. With Amazon Fresh, I could order the groceries, pay for them and select their address for delivery. I thought of others who would enjoy a surprise delivery — newlyweds just home from their honeymoon, first-time parents or an elderly neighbor who struggles to get to the store each week.
Next? Spud.com, which stands for Small Potatoes Urban Delivery. Their Web site is easy to use and again, they offer a wide variety of products. I like their Fresh Harvest Box, which contains locally grown, in season fruits and vegetables. I used their online tool that calculated how much I should spend on my harvest box based on the number of people in my family and their ages. I also selected preferences on particular items. For example, my family does not like eggplant, so I chose never to include eggplant in my harvest box. The contents of my box were then generated from the dollar amount and my list of preferences. I was able to further tailor the box, deleting and selecting other choices among the many available.
In Sammamish, the minimum order must total $33 in order to get free delivery, and the delivery day is Friday. I had to have my order submitted to them by no later than 9 a.m. on Thursday for most items. Some require ordering two days ahead. Their groceries are delivered any time between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m., and are left in bins on your doorstep.
On their Web site, they make a strong case for ordering home delivery of groceries, citing time, gas and money saved in using their service. They even provide a tool, which calculates the money and time you personally would save by ordering online and having your groceries delivered.
But how do online grocery prices compare to shopping in-store? It really depends on where you shop. Using Safeway as an example, most of the same deals are available online as they are in-store. The exception is manager specials. The delivery charge (unless I get free delivery) is the price I pay for the convenience. To me, it’s worth it. And think about this. Just as I can compare sales ads each week and drive to three different stores to pick up the best deals, I can log into all three services at once, compare the prices and select the best deals — without driving anywhere. That smoothie or coffee I might purchase “while I’m out” or the impulse buying I invariably do in-store would easily cover any delivery charge.
My groceries just arrived on my doorstep. This afternoon, instead of navigating traffic, parking lots and crowded store aisles, I’m putting the finishing touches on this article. And when the holidays are upon us, my grocery shopping is going to be a snap. Yes, I could get used to this!
Sidebar:
Although I was not able to try all of the wonderful delivery options available in
Sammamish, here are a few more that I found when I did an online search.
• Albertsons (Albertsons.com)
Full grocery service.
Delivery charge: $12.95
Attended delivery only.
Option to pick up order at store: $5.95
• Eden’s Organics (edensorganicsonline.com)
$36 for 12-15 different types of organic fruits and vegetables.
Bin contents for the week posted on the Web site by Monday afternoon.
24-hour notice on substitutions.
Delivery days assigned by area.
No delivery charge.
• Schwan’s (schwans.com)
Home delivery or UPS service.
350 frozen products available.
Emphasis on quick preparation and convenience.
Delivery fee.
