Buying groceries is, in most households, a weekly necessity for survival. Fresh fruits and vegetables, new cuts of meat and fish, a restocking of your basic dry and canned essentials are things we all need to keep the fridge and pantry stocked, so the run to the supermarket is inevitable. But today, that run can be a virtual one.
In fact, e-commerce is massive. Globally, online sales amounted to $1.6 trillion in 2015, according to Statista. If you’re considering availing of a service like Monster Savings to get a Costco delivery straight to your front porch, then you should know the pros and cons associated with ordering your weekly groceries through the Internet.
The Pros
For one, getting a delivery service for your groceries saves you a lot of time. Not only do you have to consider the time you spend grabbing your goods at supermarket, there’s also the time spent in transit and in traffic, and the time that you spend waiting in line.
You cut all that out through a delivery service, allowing you to get work done in the meantime. Secondly, we’re often prone to impulse buys. As per Brandon Gaille, 90 percent of people make impulse buying decisions involving products they didn’t mean to buy initially. Whether it’s an unplanned Snickers bar or a bag of chips, impulse buys are bad for the wallet, and often bad for our health.
The Cons
Delivery services are typically costlier than their regular counterparts. To top that off, getting your groceries online means not being able to handpick what’s being bought for you. If you’re buying predominantly fresh fruit and vegetables, this can be worrisome, unless you have some kind of assurance that your delivery service only buys quality produce.
Making Your Choice
Time is the most useful commodity on Earth, and an online grocery service can save you lots of it. But if you’d rather run your own errands for a peace of mind or to save money, then taking care of the groceries yourself may be preferable.
