10 Major Benefits of Ordering Groceries Online
From books to clothes, from gadgets to utensils, from toys to cosmetics - It is not even necessary to speak about the rapid use of online shopping apps and stores to buy anything and everything. Buying patterns have changed drastically since the introduction of online shopping. Although the craze went viral rapidly, groceries were not considered as a part of online shopping for quite a long time.
And the reason behind it was quite obvious - not being able to see or touch the food you were going to consume. After all, grabbing groceries from the store was considered as one of the most basic chores of adulting!
If you are still not able to decide about online grocery shopping, consider the age-old saying “Time is money.” When you decide to get your groceries delivered to your doorstep, you are not giving up on an easy task - you are just making room for another (a more fun task probably!)
Also, in recent times, the Coronavirus pandemic has forced us to stay inside our homes and get everything delivered online. So why not take the plunge and decide for yourself?
To make your decision process a bit easy, here is a list of the major benefits of ordering groceries through an online store.
1. Get a load of varieties
Like any other e-commerce business, online grocery stores have huge varieties available. In a local store, you’ll be able to find a maximum of 2-3 brands for a product. But when you shift to an online grocery provider, you will be able to compare and choose between dozens of brands. And most of the big players claim to have thousands of brands available, especially in case of Indian groceries. Even if one brand is out of stock, you will always have the option to go for another, instead of going back empty-handed while in-store shopping.
2. Shop anytime
… from anywhere!
It is indeed a great benefit that you can shop for your monthly groceries at any time of the day (or night!). Online grocery delivery stores have their doors open for you 24/7. Order them while having breakfast or while commuting to and fro from work - there are no restrictions. Whether it is 4 o’clock in the morning or in the noon, you can browse through the aisles as per your timetable.
3. Keeps you away from unwanted purchases
How many times you have hopped in a store for purchasing groceries and did not end up buying something that was not on the shopping list? Probably very less. But ordering them online saves you from all those unwanted purchases. You simply search for the product that you want and put it in the cart. No more distractions from cute looking products kept on the nearby shelf!
4. Never forget anything again
You can add things to your cart - one product at a time. Go to the kitchen, check what you are running short of, and never accidentally purchase a thing that is already stocked. Even if you forget something, there is no need to rush again to the store - just place a new order.
5. No more exhaustion
Think about the process that you go through while shopping groceries traditionally: Pick every product > Check the prices > Put the selected ones in cart > Transfer products from cart to conveyer belt > Move the filled bags into cart > Move bags from cart to car > Carry the bags inside your home. Gosh, it’s exhausting! With online grocery shopping, you only need to transfer the delivered products from bags to shelves!
6. Compare prices in a pressure-free environment
Do you ever find yourself in a grocery store, checking and comparing prices of cereals, with a baby in your hand, and 3 other shoppers breathing down your neck, waiting for their turns? Well, online grocery shopping saves you from all that pressure! You can take all the time that you want, compare different brands, and select the one that fits your need as well as budget.
7. Discounts and sales
We know that you appreciate getting discounts and shopping while sales are going on. To keep attracting new customers, online grocery stores offer discounts, sales, and cashbacks. Some of them even offer loyalty points which you can use to make future purchases. You can also apply their seasonal vouchers and coupons to save up additional money.
8. Save those gas and parking costs
Talk about saving up every little cost! Visiting your favorite grocery store might be absorbing fuel, gas, and the parking ticket money every week. Don’t you want to save all the hassle and treat yourself with an ice-cream tub instead? Although these savings might not seem so drastic at the start, but will definitely reflect at the end of the year.
9. Easy payment and easy returns
Debit cards, credit cards, PayPal, cash on delivery - you ask for it, you get it. All payment options are available while shopping through an online grocery store. Also, imagine when you have to return something that you bought from a store. You’ll have to drive back, show the bill, and then receive the money back. But, when you buy them online and are not satisfied with something, you can easily request for returning the items and get the money back in your account.
10. And obviously, it saves time!
Coming back to where we started, one of the main ideas behind shopping for groceries online is to save time. You can place an order in just mere minutes, which may be equal to driving to the store in person. Imagine the time you can save and utilize for other important tasks.
The bottom line
While we are habituated to go to the stores for buying groceries, shopping them online might be the appropriate antidote for your busy routine. Try it once and you will never go back to conventional grocery shopping again.
If you belong to the USA, ‘Get Grocery box’ is the online grocery store that you would want to check out right now. They deliver Indian groceries, spices, frozen food, snacks, and a lot more - throughout the USA!
- Kiran Patel
