Online Grocery Shopping Tiips

Online grocery shopping can be a lifesaver. especially to those who have busy lives, aren't fond of shopping in general, senior citizens, the disabled or stay at home moms who have children thay may or may not turn into wild monkeys as soon as they enter a grocery store.

Online grocery shopping is a dream come true for many. There are so many advantages and really only three disadvantages that I have seen. You can review all the pro's and con's and see what is right for your family.

The advantages of grocery shopping online are:

1. Get just what is on your list, no more compulsive buys!

2. Eliminate the trip to the grocery store, no driving, save money on gas and time to get there and back.

3. Save money, get special online deals good only through the website at many stores.

4. You don't have to lug in 20 bags of groceries, your cheerful delivery man , who usually accepts no tips, will gladly bring everything into your home, place all groceries on your kitchen table or counters for you. (You can also help him, to speed up the process, or my children love to help bring things in)

5. You can see exactly what you are spending, and alleviate the chance you get to the check out and go over your budget, and have to take a few things off your bill, it can be embarrassing.

6. Look at new products you mifght not have seen, have more time to read ingredients, compare products and prices.

The disadvantages

1. Most online grocery companies do not accept coupons, which can be the biggest drawback to online shopping.

2. Sometimes they are out of stock on an item and it can be frustrating, for instance, they didn't have hot dog buns when they delivered my groceries, so if I had been at the actual store, I may have found another brand or size of hot dog buns that would have worked, as opposed to me then having hot dogs, but no buns, which in turn, may end up in me going to the store sometime in the week to get the buns, thus going to the store anyway. This does not happen often.

3. You can't pick out your fruit and vegetables as you would normally, but many companies have a section where you can write a note to your personal shopper. This should help, but isn't 100% guaranteed.

There are clearly many more advantages to buying groceries online so much that I can't believe that everyone doesn't do it every time they shop!

This is what to expect when you log onto an online grocery shopping website.

You will need to register, get username and password, so that your shopping experience is secure and they have your delivery information and you can save your order history, your club card number and any coupon codes you may have.

Then you will be able to shop! You can gather your groceries in many different ways, such as shop by aisle, by express list, which is just you typing in a list and one by one it will look up in a search those items and give you the matching results it has found. You can also order off your order history, so if you buy the same things each month, you can just go through your history and add the items to your basket saving lots of time. You can also narrow your search results to see the lowest prices, club card specials or promotional sale items, even buy one get one free items. This helps when you are bargain hunting for great deals!

Once you are ready to check out, you will be able to choose a delivery date and time, (you can also choose a delivery time prior to checkout, so you can make sure that your timing is compatible with available delivery tiimes) Some companies deliver 7 days a week, others usually 6 days a week, not delivering on Sunday.

You can also find promotional deals via email and regular mail with codes that will offer free delivery. Most companies will offer you free delivery on your first order, and many orders over $150 or $200 will give you free delivery.

That's it, next thing you know, your groceries will be delivered right on time, at the expected delivery time, the next day, or sometime next week when you schedule it. You will love how easy it is to use and you won't ever want to go back to your local store for your large shopping trips, besides running in for milk or bread if you need it.

There are also options with some companies that will allow you to shop online, then pick up at your local store for about half of the delivery fee than if they had delivered it. Check out the options your local service provides.

Here are some of the best online grocery shopping websites, check each site to see if they have delivery available in your area. Happy Shopping!

www.vons.com

www.albertsons.com

www.netgrocer.com

www.peapod.com

www.schwans.com

www.safeway.com