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It's time to wave goodbye to wobbly trolleys, crowded aisles, long checkout queues and do your weekly supermarket shop online. Even if you are perfectly capable of getting to the supermarket, the idea of letting someone else shop for you while you do something else is very appealing.
Supermarkets are getting their acts together with their online delivery services. Ordering groceries from your computer is now much quicker and easier than it used to be but, still, some stores offer a much better service than others.
The beauty of shopping online, however, is that, subject to the supermarket delivering in your area, you can pick whichever service you like best. So, those online supermarkets which aren't doing so well should take note.
Getting Started
It's simple to get started. Log on to the supermarket's website and use the postcode finder to check it delivers in your area. You'll need to register some details with the site - usually your email, address, and a password - before shopping, but you can browse without registering.
The first thing to do is book a delivery time to ensure you can find one that is convenient for you. All the sites hold your delivery booking for a few hours or until you've checked out. You'll normally need to order at least a day before you want your shopping, although some say they can sometimes do same-day deliveries.
All the sites have similar features. You can search for products by name, or browse the different sections of the site. You'll get a brief description of each product, and sometimes a picture. You simply add the quantity you want to your virtual trolley. You can save electronic shopping lists so that it's quicker to shop next time.
When you've finished, you proceed to the checkout (in a secure part of the site) and enter your credit or debit card details. To cancel or change an order, you must do so before a specific cut-off point.
All the supermarkets may deliver to a different address from the one your credit card is registered at if you so wish.
The shopping experience
Only two or three years ago, there were endless problems with online supermarkets such as sites frequently crashing and deliveries containing wrong items, all of which sent customers rushing back to their trolleys. Half the orders made with online supermarkets took more than an hour and a half to complete - longer than physically going to a local store to shop. Now, logging on and ordering is far less fraught - the average time spent online for regular users is 30 minutes.
Generally, logging on and finding items is easy.
If you have trouble ordering, all the websites have helplines which are pretty good. It's easy to get through to someone and issues are resolved promptly and satisfactorily.
Booking a delivery time
The biggest online supermarkets offer hourly delivery slots, while the others offer two-hour slots. Generally it's advisable to book early to get the delivery slot of your choice.
Delivering the goods
The good news is that, once you've booked your delivery slot, delivery vans generally arrive within their designated time.
The delivery driver is normally your one human contact with the supermarket. Happily, customers are uniformly impressed with them.
Substitutions
If the item you ordered is out of stock, online supermarkets will substitute it for you. For example, if you'd ordered a two-pint carton of milk, but none was in stock, you might receive two one-pint cartons instead. Substitutions can be variable. Sometimes the supermarket can seem to be in tune with you, and sometimes a bit less.
When your food is delivered, the driver should point out any substituted products, and give you the option of refusing any you're not happy with. The supermarkets are good at doing this. But even so you'd probably prefer to receive what you ordered in the first place.
Quality of food
You may have reservations about not being there to pick out the healthiest looking grapes or tomatoes yourself. But, happily, supermarkets seem to do a pretty good job of this.
Thankfully, shopping is generally delivered in good condition.
Costs
You'll need to consider the delivery charges when ordering. Most charge around £5 per delivery, although some online supermarkets offer deliveries for free if you spend over a certain amount. This is a good incentive to give the services a try. It's a shame not all the stores offer free delivery as the costs can add up.
All the food websites we have selected are designed to help you buy the right amount of food and buy it most economically
Remember when you buy your food online that careful portioning is an important part of any meal preparation. It helps to ensure that each serving will be the appropriate size and that a recipe will produce the expected quantity.
It is also important to ensure that meals provide sufficient calories, and determine the specific contribution each food makes toward the meal nutrition requirements.
In addition, the selected websites can provide ideas for adding new foods or new forms of familiar foods to your menus.
A variety of fruits, vegetables and grains, especially whole grains, are key elements of a healthful diet. By offering a wide variety of nourishing foods, you are giving yourself and your family greater opportunity to develop eating habits that promote life-long good health.
Buying food online has become more practical than ever because online payment has never been safer and delivery is now proposed at almost all times – apart from Sundays in most cases - well organised (you actually get what you ordered) and convenient.
But the best improvement in the last years on websites selling and delivering food is the amount of information proposed for each product, which allows you to choose in the comfort of your own home with all the information (nutrition, products use by: date) you would have if you were looking at the physical product or holding it in your hand in the shop.
Please note that most grocery websites do not propose frozen food.
If you haven’t tried buying food online yet, it has never been a better moment to give it a try. To help you carry on with your research for the best way to order food online, we have selected websites that are specialists in proposing a wide range of food items and display frequent offers and promotions. Click on the links of your choice on the right hand side of the screen and you will find all the quality food you are looking to buy online.
© Before-Buying.co.uk 2006 |
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