The Pros and Cons of Early Morning Grocery Shopping

If you are a busy mom like me, you know how hard it is to fit going to the grocery store into a hectic schedule.

I decided this Sunday morning that I was going to venture out at 6AM and wrap up all of my grocery shopping for the week. Not to mention it was only 2 degrees here in Michigan with a wind chill below zero. What was I thinking?

If you don't have a large food retail store in your hometown such as a 24-hour Wal-Mart or Meijer, then you may not be able to shop before 9AM.

I learned a lot from this excursion, including the pros and cons of being an early bird shopper. Here are some tips and drawbacks from the experience:

The Pros-

Very few other people shopping.

Of course everyone would imagine the main benefit of shopping so early in the morning is the fact that there is hardly anyone else shopping in the store. This is great because it allows you to search for items that you may not be able to find if other people are in the way.

The lines are short.

When I went in at 6AM there was a total of only two customers in the entire grocery department. (myself included) I was able to walk right up and begin the checkout process immediately.

Help can be easy to find.

Although there was mainly stock people in just about every isle, there was always someone available to answer any question I may have had about an item. I was looking for a certain brand of lunch meat that was advertised as being on sale and I couldn't locate it. A stock person was able to help me locate it right away, and he didn't hesitate on being very friendly and helpful.

You can always find a decent cart.

Sometimes if you are shopping on a busy day such as a Friday or Saturday it is difficult to locate a shopping cart. There is no problem when you are shopping early in the morning -- there were many carts available.

Go as you are.

Don't worry about fixing up your hair and makeup, chances are there will likely be no one there that you will have to worry about running into. Dress comfortable. Go in your Pajamas if you want.

Peace and quiet.

When I went shopping this morning I went alone, that means I left the money spenders at home. (husband and children) It was so nice to stroll through the isles and hear no screaming little children or see people who wouldn't get out of the way. It never fails if I go in the afternoon or evening there is always a screaming baby, a yelling mom and a woman whose cart and herself takes up the entire isle--making it virtually impassable. No worries if you shop in the wee hours of the morning.

Shop on the weekends.

I have found that Sunday morning is the best day to shop--everyone else is sleeping in. If you have to go to church later that morning, that's fine, just get an earlier start.

The Cons-

Limited cashiers.

I was a little apprehensive when I first walked in and realized there was only the self-pay checkouts going. I thought maybe I wasn't going to be able to go in and buy $80 worth of groceries if I had to go through that checkout process. Luckily, there was one lane open with a cashier for someone like me with multiple items. Having a limited number of cashiers in the morning could be a problem if by some chance, a flock of shoppers happen to arrive.

Limited to no customer service.

If you are wishing to return anything, the early AM hours is not the time to do it. Typically the customer service desk is closed and no one will be available to assist you until 8 or 9AM.

Deli and bakery are closed.

If you are planning on purchasing anything from the deli or bakery, they typically have their own hours and will not be able to assist you real early in the morning.

Sale ads are not posted near food items.

While the stockers are there early in the morning, they are moving around items that may be going on sale or the items in which the sale is ending. This is the time that they also change sale displays--if you are not sure which item is on sale--be sure to grab a circular ad.

Popular items may not be available.

While you may be lucky and find that bag of Doritos on sale that you wanted for just $1.00, many items that are well-sought after may be waiting in the backroom to be re-stocked. Unless you want to wait for the stock person to load up, this is the time they are working and they may not have filled the shelf with the item you want yet.

Abundance of stock people.

As I said before, one thing you are sure to find is an abundance of stock people stocking and organizing the shelves. There may be boxes and items on the floor while they are busy working. Some items you may need to reach could also be blocked, this could be a big disadvantage to early morning shopping.

While I've weighed the pros and cons, I don't think early morning shopping is something I would want to do on a regular basis--just once in a while.

If you are an early bird and want to avoid the crowds, then hitting the isles bright and early may be just for you.

Happy Shopping!