Online shopping is gaining popularity at a significantly fast pace. Overall, the U.S. online grocery sales in 2018 have been approximately USD 17.5 billion, and it might rise to around USD 30 billion by 2024.
Because of convenience, people are getting more and more attracted to online grocery shopping. It saves your time and the ordeal of going out to the market. But, is online grocery shopping really beneficial?
Let us look into both the pros and cons of online grocery shopping and then you can decide whether you want your groceries delivered at your doorstep or not. Click here to visit the store and explore it.
Pros of Shopping for Groceries Online
- Compare prices
Remember how troublesome it used to be to find out the most economical product with ten more shoppers pushing you or hovering over you? Now, it’s no more the same. With online shopping, you can compare the prices of all the products and purchase the one that gives you the best quality at a reasonable cost. It also soothes your anxiety level and makes your life much smoother.
- Shop at your convenience
Shop at whatever time you like from the comfort of your couch. Or shop while checking the current stock in your kitchen. No need of preparing any grocery list or calling your spouse to check. No need for running around the grocery stores with your kids. Place the order, and the retailer will get your groceries deliveredat your desired location.
- No more impulse buying
Every time I go out for the grocery shopping, I end up purchasing unnecessary items like a gallon of ice cream, some extra candy bars, and the unhealthy bags of chips. Can you relate to me? If yes, then online shopping is ideally suited for you – no products displayed on the shelves to distract you and you can purchase online, the items you need.
Browse through only those items you need and pick the one that best meets your requirements. This also saves the extra bucks you spend on impulse buying.
- Saves time
One very glaring benefit of online grocery shopping is – it saves your time. Driving up and down the grocery store, trying to find out the products you need, comparing prices, standing in the queue are all very time-consuming. And, with online shopping, you can overcome all these pains.
Build your cart whenever you find the time, and order whenever you are ready with your list. Most retailers also give the option of picking up the items from their store – so either pick it up on your way back home or get groceries deliveredin your car.
Cons of Online Grocery Shopping
Now that the benefits of online shopping are covered, let’s take a look at the hind side of this mode of shopping. And how you can outcome these challenges in the most convenient way.
- Delivery charges might be high
If you have a busy schedule, you might prefer online shopping, but do you know some popular delivery slots have higher delivery charges. So, while you may be saving on your time, you might end up spending more on delivery cost.
Since delivery slots can get booked up several months in advance with a little planning, you can save on this cost. Moreover, as of 2017, less than 35% of the food stores in the U.S. offered home delivery or store pickup services, but we can expect a change in this scenario, as in 2018 itself the percentage has increased to 42%.
- Not the best product
Preferences differ from person to person so you might have a problem in buying the product that precisely suits your needs. In a shop, you can pick the exact avocado that you want, but that might not be possible on online shopping when you are doing it without assistance.
So, if you have some specific requirement, shop with a trusted shopkeeper who can help you throughout your purchasing process.
- Miss the fun of shopping
If you are one of them who is finicky about fresh fruits and veggies, and if you enjoy shopping, then purchasing groceries online might not be the best solution for you. If you also want to avail the discounts available only in stores, then you might consider splitting your shopping. Buy the basics online and for fresh fruits and vegetables, visit the local farmers market.
Nicola Holder 