Basket Case: online grocery
shopping
29 June 2006 15:16 | Global
Laura Gould
If the thought of a spotty teenager unable to differentiate between an unripe avocado and a downright mouldy one choosing your shopping fills you with fear, then perhaps online grocery deliveries are not for you.
On the other hand, for those of us from the school of “what we don’t know can’t hurt us”, this latest intrusion of the internet into the humdrum routine of daily life is somewhat of a godsend.
Stranded in a dingy corner of North London with no car and the nearest supermarket a 10-15-minute walk away, I apprehensively made my first foray into the world of online grocery shopping a few weeks ago. Imagine my delight when not only did the delivery arrive on time, but I had not been palmed off with the oldest fruits and vegetables in the warehouse.
Of course, there are drawbacks to the system – you’re tied to the house during the delivery time slot (which varies between one or two hours, depending on the retailer); sometimes products are substituted if what you requested is not available; there is the ubiquitous delivery charge; and of course you cannot choose your own fresh produce or meat.
Nevertheless, the impulse to buy junk food on a whim is removed, there is no contending with long check-out queues or surly assistants, and heavy shopping bags become a thing of the past.
The online shopping concept is well underway in the UK, where cash-rich, time-poor consumers are eagerly latching on to the system. The question remains as to whether shoppers in the rest of the world will embrace the idea with the same enthusaism?
If the thought of a spotty teenager unable to differentiate between an unripe avocado and a downright mouldy one choosing your shopping fills you with fear, then perhaps online grocery deliveries are not for you.
On the other hand, for those of us from the school of “what we don’t know can’t hurt us”, this latest intrusion of the internet into the humdrum routine of daily life is somewhat of a godsend.
Stranded in a dingy corner of North London with no car and the nearest supermarket a 10-15-minute walk away, I apprehensively made my first foray into the world of online grocery shopping a few weeks ago. Imagine my delight when not only did the delivery arrive on time, but I had not been palmed off with the oldest fruits and vegetables in the warehouse.
Of course, there are drawbacks to the system – you’re tied to the house during the delivery time slot (which varies between one or two hours, depending on the retailer); sometimes products are substituted if what you requested is not available; there is the ubiquitous delivery charge; and of course you cannot choose your own fresh produce or meat.
Nevertheless, the impulse to buy junk food on a whim is removed, there is no contending with long check-out queues or surly assistants, and heavy shopping bags become a thing of the past.
The online shopping concept is well underway in the UK, where cash-rich, time-poor consumers are eagerly latching on to the system. The question remains as to whether shoppers in the rest of the world will embrace the idea with the same enthusaism?
|