Any virtual trolley-pushers here?

[Taffycat]

Many of you shop for computer-related bits and bobs over the internet, but I was just wondering whether any of you (or your partners) ever go internet shopping for food?

I've bought our weekly supermarket groceries over the internet, ever since we bought our first PC (about six years ago.) It frees up time for more interesting things and avoids the hassle of trying to push a very heavy, often wayward trolley, around a crowded store. These days, if I call into a supermarket for some forgotten item, I have time to browse the music CDs, cheese-counter or whatever else takes my interest. Another plus, is not having to go through the process of: loading the trolley, queueing at the checkout, unloading the trolley, loading the trolley again (whilst fumbling with cash or a card), unloading it yet again to get the shopping into the car, driving home and then unloading it all again, before re-loading it into cupboards. It's brilliant. Ordering only takes me about ten minutes.

Ok there are the occasional boo-boos, such as the time I ordered one Kg of bananas but actually received...just one banana Or another occasion when quite by accident, I managed to order 2 Kg of Fennel, instead of just two bulbs! But these happenings are too few and far between to really matter very much.

Anyone else a devotee of the virtual supermarket? Just being curious

 

[floppybootstomp]

I never have done that thing.

Mostly for two reasons: It means having to stay at home and wait for the delivery and to a degree I like to see what I'm buying.

But I would agree it is a good idea for those who gain from it

 

[Taffycat]

I never have done that thing.

Mostly for two reasons: It means having to stay at home and wait for the delivery and to a degree I like to see what I'm buying.

But I would agree it is a good idea for those who gain from it

A good point Flops - but I usually use Sainsbury's, who have a one-hour delivery slot. One can choose a day and pick the time that best suits. I would hate to have to wait around all day too, but they are very reliable and it's very very rare that they have ever been late. I can understand the need to see and choose some things for yourself though

 

[crazylegs]

I haven't personally used shopping from the net but can imagine its a lifesaver for people who can't get out because of illness or other problems..

I also like to see what i'm buying, anyway I would miss me weekly shop and speaking to the checkout girls, they can be quite naughty you know when cohersed....

 

[Ian]

Not done it myself either - although I was tempted when we used to live far from a local shop and had no car.

If I lived further from the shops then I probably would use it sometimes, but I'm only 5 mins away from Sainsburys now so I've got no excuse

 

[muckshifter]

The only time I get fresh air, is going to the supermarket.


You will also find you are paying a premium for the service, no?

Still, if you're old, handicapped, getting passed it, born again yuppie & not fussed who did what with your food, then I suppose they have a place in today's market.


Would be better if the stuff was emailed to you.


I don't think my £20 a week for groceries will go that far.

 

[Abarbarian]

I know a blind couple in Grange who shop on-line with Tescos in Barrow and get the stuff delivered at a cost of £10 . Even with the delivery charge it is cheaper for them than shopping localy .

 

[Taffycat]

AB that sounds very expensive - until recently, our delivery was free, providing one chose a delivery day of either Tue, Wed or Thurs and even now, it is only £2.50 (just checked last week's bill) which is good value when you consider the time and effort which has gone into it.

I don't think one is paying a premium, Mucks, in that the same "special offers" apply, whether you shop on line, or go to the store in person. But perhaps costs vary according to where people are located - I would imagine that the London area might be more expensive than here, say, due to congestion charges and what-not?

Ideally, it would be lovely to be able to buy from speciality shops (much as everyone did years ago, before supermarkets came into being) but sadly there would be a paucity of products around here. This was a market town, but it lost it's market a few years ago. We have a so-called farmers' market, but that is only held once each month, (in the town hall) and only between the hours of 9 am to about 1 pm, so it's not really practical. We were a bit disappointed by its lack of variety, because the stalls mainly consisted of honey, chutney, cakes and jewelery! There was another selling olives (strange, haven't seen many Welsh olive groves ) and yet another which was selling cheeses. We bought a cheese, but on closer inspection, it was an ordinary Caerphilly cheese, which had been crumbled up, then squeezed back together to form a ball shape and rolled in peppercorns! Now that really was a bit of a premium rip-off

 

[cirianz]

Don't even knoe of any local supermarkets who do online shopping, but Dunedin's a small town compared to most of the world (over here we call it a city )
But, although John hates supermarkets, I reckon he'd miss chatting up the checkout girls
besides, that is how I met John, back when he used to work night-fill in Centercity New World supermarket.
Used to stop & chat with him each friday when I got my groceries.
Only understood about one word in ten at first, but his accent was sooooo hot
& he didn't look half bad either
Never thought I'd be marrying him though

 

[psd99]

I have always thought about doing this online Tesco shopping.

Sometimes when I go in the store it is SO BUSY and gets frustrating.
So I decided the best time to go do the shopping is early morning around 8-9am. Pretty quiet then.

How much does delivery cost you?
If you were to put in the cost of petrol/travel, time and convenience do you think it is worth it?

I think this sort of thing can make some people feel very lazy in life. But different people have different circumstances.

Such as the old aged, might like this idea, but with all respect a lot of the old aged I know can barely turn on a PC.

Then you got people with disabilities and illnesses, which find it hard to get out of the house.

Others include housewives who are specifically looking after kids, where it would be difficult to take them kids out without adequate transport.

Where I think I am slightly alarmed would be from those persons that are fat and obese,they just sit there all day
this sort of internet shopping can only be detrimental to their already poor health. Also included are the agrophobia sufferers!

Rant over

 

[Taffycat]

Hi Psd, hmmm I sense that buying groceries on-line somehow equates with yuppiness, lazyness, obesity, chronic illness, old age, agoraphobia... and who knows what else, thrown in for good measure

Let's put it into perspective a bit - yes, it's true that one, or even all of the above might apply to some people. But, there are others, like myself, who just find it very convenient.

I shopped weekly, and in-person, for about 30 years, like oodles of other folk. It used to take about an hour and a half (including travelling and actual shopping time) then up to a further 20 minutes to put everything away. On-line, I can get everything I need within about 10 minutes - slightly more, if I want to browse for something out of the ordinary. So, a tick for time saved.

On line, there isn't the same temptation to impulse buy - such as there is when the store you are visiting has just re-arranged everything; we all know why they do that, it is to ensure that we see lots of other goodies as we search around for what we really wanted to buy Tick for money saved.

In a store, it's nearly impossible to stop and read a list of ingredients, or browse for something, without being jostled and doing a sort of square-dance with others who are all trying to do the same thing. This is ok if they are friendly... but there are a heck of a lot of "Get outta my way I'm in a tearing hurry and much more important than you...!" types out there

On-line, you don't get your toes trodden-on, or poked in the eye with an elbow
Oh, and if you can't remember whether you need to buy something... you can nip into the kitchen to check

Delivery charges - well, they will vary depending upon which store you use. It costs me £2.50, which is really not bad.

As for people who want to get out, yes, a good point - but there are better venues than the supermarket, with it's crowds and sometimes thumpingly loud music which won't allow you to concentrate. (I like music, but find it intrusive when I'm trying to make decisions about what I want to buy.)

I accept that it's not for everyone - which is fair enough. To me, it is liberating to have the freedom to use the time I am saving for other things which I enjoy more. I'm not meaning this to sound like a rant, preach, or anything other than a simple point of view, by the way.

Oh, and Psd - yes, some elderly folk might have a problem getting to grips with a PC... but you might also be surprised at how quickly some of them manage to learn too. I have an internet friend who is now in her 89th year. She is profoundly deaf and her PC is an absolute life-line. She learned how to use it when in her late 70s and hasn't looked back. Sliding off-topic a wee bit, I cannot help feeling that if more older people were given a bit of help to buy/use a computer, it would ultimately enable them to retain their independence for a bit longer. Just a thought.

 

[psd99]

Hi Psd, hmmm I sense that buying groceries on-line somehow equates with yuppiness, lazyness, obesity, chronic illness, old age,
agoraphobia... and who knows what else, thrown in for good measure

How about gluttony, constipation or Diahorrea?
lmao.

In a store, it's nearly impossible to stop and read a list of ingredients, or browse for something, without being jostled and doing a sort of square-dance with others who are all trying to do the same thing. This is ok if they are friendly... but there are a heck of a lot of "Get outta my way I'm in a tearing

hurry and much more important than you...!" types out there

On-line, you don't get your toes trodden-on, or poked in the eye with an elbow
Oh, and if you can't remember whether you need to buy something... you can nip into the kitchen to check

Good points and this is why I regard a trip to the supermarket at odd times to be the best. I try to target the places at either 8-9pm or 2-3pm. But the latter sometimes seems to be busy. I also tried going at silly hours such as 12-1am but found that the restocking at night got into my way.
Something which I wanted to try is to go there at around 4-6am, where I beleive the goods would have all been full up, but that is just virtual insanity to go to a place like Tescos at this time.

So we can say a tick for Avoiding long quees. For sure.

Delivery charges - well, they will vary depending upon which store you use. It costs me £2.50, which is really not bad.

Bargain of the century. I normally go to Tescos and I beleive they charge £5 but £2.50 is brilliant. Where do you get this from?

Oh, and Psd - yes, some elderly folk might have a problem getting to grips with a PC... but you might also be surprised at how quickly some of them manage to learn too. I have an internet friend who is now in her 89th year. She is profoundly deaf and her PC is an absolute life-line. She learned how to use it when in her late 70s and hasn't looked back. Sliding off-topic a wee bit, I cannot help feeling that if more older people were given a bit of help to buy/use a computer, it would ultimately enable them to retain their independence for a bit longer. Just a thought.

Interesting, the reason why I wrote what I did earlier is because I am speaking from experience of all the old people I know of. Most of them are not computer literate. But with regards to old people when I was working in a supermarket, I felt that they somehow enjoyed a trip to the supermarket, especially the couples, oh old love, bless them.


I woulnd't mind changing my ways after you mentioned the £2.50 my eyes have lit right up. I think it comes down to some factors including lifestyle, preference, Internet access, distance from store, convenience and transportation.

Overall I think I would consider missing a trip to the store and ordering online. I will try it one off and see how it goes. Then one day when we get free home delivery, I think I would do it more often. That would be a real temptation.

 

[PotGuy]

Before the excursion to the hotel we shopped online for the best part of 4 years.

I think it is great, except that sometimes there isn't the range that you get in the supermarket itself.

Orignally we always went to Tesco. But when we got broadband we decided that we couldn't be bothered and it took up far too much time - me, my brother and my sister were about 13,6 and 15 respectively and so finding time for actually shopping was very difficult as we don't have a car and we are a single parent (mum) family.

We have used Ocado, Asda, Sainsburys and Tescos over the last few years and to be honest I think Sainsburys was the best.

Ocado gave really, really good service and lots of vouchers, but there food was SO, SO expensive! At one point we spent £160 on the shop for a family of 5. I guess they are Waitrose, and as such much of their market is old or retired and so have lots of money to spend on quality food.

Us? We like most people don't, so went to Asda which was dirt cheap, but they packed things terribly and half the time we got mostly the wrong stuff.

So we changed to sainsburys which was very good indeed, but again it all got a bit expensive.

So after 5 years, we just ended up back at Tesco, which is alright. Its prices are brilliant, its service is adequate. And that is all we need

Online shopping is good.

Try it.

 

[cirianz]

Good points and this is why I regard a trip to the supermarket at odd times to be the best. I try to target the places at either 8-9pm or 2-3pm. But the latter sometimes seems to be busy. I also tried going at silly hours such as 12-1am but found that the restocking at night got into my way.
Something which I wanted to try is to go there at around 4-6am, where I beleive the goods would have all been full up, but that is just virtual insanity to go to a place like Tescos at this time.

Sorry, but even just the thought of having the freedom timewise of being able to go to the supermarket when I choose has me drooling. I'd do all my shopping on monday then definitely They run a day long cut price special at Pak & Save
But with work constraints we have to go on the weekends
& they're only open 8am to 10pm.
The only allnight supermarket around here charges higher prices for the priveledge. Although, even so, we've had to pop in for essentials a couple of times in the middle of the night when time constraints make it impossible for us to get in to town during the day.
& as for the obese & elderly, but sorry, I don't know about over there, but here that could be one hell of a walk exercise wise fror much of the population. House prices within walking distance of most of the local shopping areas around here tend to be out of the reach of most with a limited pocketbook.

Interesting, the reason why I wrote what I did earlier is because I am speaking from experience of all the old people I know of. Most of them are not computer literate. But with regards to old people when I was working in a supermarket, I felt that they somehow enjoyed a trip to the supermarket, especially the couples, oh old love, bless them.

& here I think you're generalising just a bit too much from your personal experience. I suppose it might be because they have a bit more time on their hands, but most elderly people I know are far more proficient on their computers than even my husband is. I would suspect that computer literacy is as diversely spread amoung the older age agroups as any.

Mind you, maybe your right, right now I'm paying my 14 year old daughter to help me with the coding for my up comming website. I suspect that she doesn't think very much of my degree of computer literacy at the moment
& the funniest thing, I taught her most of the coding she's using (most of it is just basic html, not even needing much in the way of javascript even)
but somewhere along the line it's all just leaked out of my ears.
Maybe senility's setting in?