Online Grocery Ordering from a Local Grocery Store

Local grocery stores are competing with the online grocers by offering their own online grocery ordering service. A report from the Food Marketing Institute states that 5% of consumers have ordered their groceries online. Local grocery stores will not necessarily deliver your groceries to your door but instead you may have to pick them up at the store.

I had my first online grocery shopping experience this week after being home with a sick child. I was running out of juice and cold medicine, along with a ton of other items, and I didn't want to drag him through a store with a fever. With no end in sight, I went to a local grocery store's website and started shopping.

Buehler's is a local grocery that offers a Click, Load, and Go service at five of their locations throughout Ohio. All you have to do is register your preferred customer or advantage card number, name, address, and phone number.

Convenience of Online Ordering from a Local Grocery Store

I was thrilled with the fact that I could order my groceries online and pick them up the next day without getting my sick child out of the car or infecting the entire store. I was able to schedule my own pick up time window. If I was going to be late then all I would have to do is call the store and let them know.

I pulled up to the front of the store, gave an employee my name, and he loaded my groceries in the car. A cashier came out to take my coupons and to run my credit card. It took a total of six minutes from the time I pulled up to the front of the store until the time that I drove away.

Grocery Store Website

Buehler's website was easy to navigate. You can shop by their weekly circular, by product description, or by department. Each department was broken down into subcategories so that you are not scrolling through pages and pages looking for an item.

When I picked a specific category it listed the prices so that I could compare the name brands and their private label brands. Each product came with a description, size, and most had a picture attached. I did make one mistake, though. I wanted to order two regular sized cans of Spaghettios and instead I ordered two large cans.

I was even able to order sliced deli meats and if I wanted it sliced in a particular way, I could have specified that too. I ordered four bananas and four apples from the produce department. Everything that was on the store's shelves was available to order online.

It took me about forty-five minutes to place my first online grocery order. Now that I am registered and am familiar with the website I know that the next time I order it will go much quicker.

Prices for Online Grocery Orders

The prices are better for online groceries if you order through a local grocer. You can get the sale ad prices and use coupons. To redeem coupons at Buehler's all I had to do was list my coupons in the additional information section and hand them my coupons when I picked up my groceries.

At Buehler's my first order was free. After your first order there is a fee of $7.95 per order but they do offer a monthly rate of $24.95. Even if my first order wasn't free I would have gladly of paid the $7.95 order fee for the convenience of not having to go into the store with a sick kid.

The monthly fee may be worth the price if you plan on stopping to pick up groceries one or more times per week.

Who can benefit from ordering groceries online?

Online grocery shopping is convenient for anyone who works. Buehler's has pick up times up until 8pm. This is much more convenient than worrying about being home for a grocery delivery, especially when they are the ones telling you what time they will deliver. You can order groceries on your lunch hour and pick them up on the way home without being late for dinner.

Of course internet grocery shopping is a wonderful option for anyone who cannot get out and into the store. I wasn't able to do shopping with a sick child, but I know other people who aren't physically able to walk around a grocery store.

When my kids were babies I used to say that I wished that grocery stores had a drive up window just to pick up milk and diapers, especially in the wintertime. My husband used to roll his eyes at me but I just hated dragging out an infant in a carrier with a toddler in tow just to pick up a few items. Ordering groceries online eliminates that struggle and makes mom's life that much easier.

Sources:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7714118

Buehlers.com

Buehler`s Brunswick