Online Grocery Shopping

An in-depth look about how to save money on your next grocery bill by shopping online.

I hope you've all enjoyed grocery month. This is the last post for the month, and I think it should be about the future of grocery shopping: online shopping!

How many of you have tried online grocery shopping? Do you like it? I tried it for the first time a couple of weeks ago and I was impressed with the results. My husband can't have any gluten which means our typical grocery bill is higher than the average person's. We pay around $7-8 for a loaf of bread - not cheap. So we like to supplement our diet with less expensive starches like quinoa. I found some recipes I wanted to try out involving quinoa flakes, which are similar to quick-rolled oats. They taste great - the only downside is the cost. A 350 gram box cost me $6.99! I really liked them, but not at that cost, so I wanted to see if I could buy them cheaper elsewhere. And indeed I could, online. I went to Go Go Quinoa's website and bought 7 kg for $55 including shipping. That's a savings of over 50%!

My 7 kg of quinoa flakes!

I was really amazed by the savings I got, and how quick and easy the whole process was. This has made me want to do more research on online grocery shopping and see where I can use it again. Here is what I found out.

The Online Store

There are several online grocery stores that we as Canadians have access to. These are almost identical to a regular grocery store in that they have a wide range of products. You can get most of your groceries here. 

Grocery Gateway is probably the best known online grocery store in Ontario. I have never used them, but I had a roommate in university who used them and she loved it. I went onto their website and found out that as a new customer you can get $5 off your first order. They currently deliver to Toronto and surrounding areas only. You can enter your postal code on their website and see if they will deliver to you. There is a $45 minimum order and an $11.95 delivery fee. You get to choose your delivery time and they are in 90 minute slots. They also offer a freshness guarantee, so you don't have to worry about your food spoiling.

Grocery Checkout is another company I found in my research. They are very similar to Grocery Gateway, but not as popular. I looked through their website and found they carried most major brands and products found in any grocery store. For orders under $100 you pay a $7.95 delivery fee, and for orders over $100 that fee is only $5.95. You don't get to chose your delivery time, but the delivery windows are only 30 minutes, so you don't have to wait around as long. They have a 100% satisfaction guarantee.

If you live in Ottawa you can use Metro Glebe. They let you order your groceries online from Metro and deliver them to you. They only offer deliveries at certain times, so you'll have to wait around longer to get your groceries. I assume they charge for delivery, however I was not able to find a price anywhere on their website. In general this website was a lot harder to navigate and would be a problem with using this service.

There are tons of other sites and companies out there where you can order specialized products. Like I did with my quinoa flakes, I went to the web site of a company that sold quinoa products in physical stores. Think about things you buy a lot of and could do with buying in bulk. Look them up online and see if someone is offering those products at a discount. Examples of products might be cereal, protein shakes, rice, etc... Look up specific brands you buy (like I did with Go Go Quinoa, which is the same brand sold in-store), see if they have an online store you can use.

E-Order

If you don't think using an online store is for you, consider doing an e-order with a store you regularly shop at.

M&M's Meat Shops allows you to place an e-order through their website. Just go to the store and pick it up. This is great because it saves you time in the store, but you can examine the products you want in detail online before you purchase them.

Other Alternatives

If you don't want to order your groceries online, you can always call in to your grocery store and place your order over the phone and have them deliver it. Not every grocery store offers this service, but many do, so if this interests you, ask around. My Grannie used this when my Grandad was no longer able to drive her to the grocery store. She would call before 10:00 am on either Tuesday or Thursday and place her order. The groceries would be delivered either the same or next day. The cost for this was $8.00. While my Grannie generally preferred going to the grocery store, she realized that this was a reasonable alternative in her situation. She always got exactly what she wanted and sometimes the delivery person would even help her put the groceries away. You don't have to be elderly or disabled to use this service. If getting to the grocery store is difficult for you, consider delivery by your local grocer. Think of all the time and hassle you will save yourself.

Is It Worth It?

Do you ever think about how much it costs to go grocery shopping? If you have a car, you'll likely only be paying a couple of dollars in gas to get to and from the grocery store. However, gas costs are not your only costs. The government suggests that you be reimbursed at $0.53/kilometer to factor in vehicle costs. So if you have to drive 5 km to get to the grocery store and 5km to get home, you've already spent $5.30. Further, think back to my post on making things yourself. If your time is worth money, and it takes you 20 minutes total driving time, then delivery is almost certainly the more cost-effective solution. If you are pressed for time by work, keep in mind that it's probably effectively cheaper to have it delivered.

If you don't have a car and take a bus or taxi to grocery shop you'll be spending a lot more. If you take the bus to the grocery store and a taxi back, you'll be spending around $3.00 for the bus and $10.00-15.00 for the taxi. Combine the two and it is still cheaper than the most expensive delivery fee in this post of $11.95 (Grocery Gateway).

Aside from these initial costs you have to consider your time. Is grocery shopping frustrating or difficult? Do you hate doing it? Then why not consider getting someone else to do it for you? While it might seem expensive, once you add your transportation costs and labour I'm sure you'll find that ordering online is cheaper, not to mention a lot easier.

The Future

I personally think that online grocery shopping is going to continue to grow in popularity worldwide and especially here in Canada. Compared to the US we have a lot less options, but like many other things (Netflix for example), they are slowly making their way across the border. Amazon offers a great online grocery store, but only in the States. I would love to see more options here for us Canadian grocery shoppers. While shopping in a store can make sense for many people, there are lots of people out there who find it difficult. I don't have trouble grocery shopping, but I have trouble with paying too much, so that's why I looked to online stores instead. Whatever your reason, do your own research into online grocery shopping. This blog is a great starting point, but is not intended to be the final word on the subject. There are tons of great sites and deals out there to be had. I hope you find and use them.