internet grocery shopping v traditional - ?cheapest

Ronankfan

I do one 'big' shop a month and then just use the market and butchers for the rest. I like to wander round the shop seeing the reduced items but once a onth is enough for me and i have 2 freezers so that helps a lot. Not sure if i would like online shopping!!!!

johanne

i tend to do an online shop for stocking up on "basics" every 3 months or so and only if i have a code that allows for some sort of discount and free delivery. I usually bulk buy tins/cartons juice/heavy drinks etc that are too heavy to carry as i have a bad back.

I have shopped with both Asda and sainsburys and was sorta satisfied with asda... few subsitutions i didnt like and there was quite a lot of items unavailable that i wanted, plus a million bags!!!....... but totally impressed with sainsburys! They packed the bags really well (few bags as possible too) and there was NO items unavailable or subsituted... long dates on the fresh items... and a really polite driver. Only problem is they charge £5 delivery and dont seem to do many codes.... so its not worth me shopping online with them unless i get a code as its only 15 mins walk away to the store.

I do prefer to shop in store though and think it is usually cheaper... but as im single and not working at the moment i have the time to shop around and go to 4 or 5 shops so i get the cheapest of everything i buy.

metherer

Hi All

I'm a fan of Tesco Online. I do an online shop every month, and just top up with fresh items when i need to. Re substitutions, I've selected the box marked do not make any substitutions, which solved the problem of ordering rice cakes and getting rice instead!

I couldn't go back to using the store regularly. I'm a sucker for the sweet aisle, but online it never appeals.

& thanks to my clubcard I get lots of good deals.

Metherer
x

Chipps

I have shopped online with Tesco - and have gone back to "proper" shopping.
They never bring what is ordered. If you let them substitute it's always for dearer stuff I would never buy myself. If you don't let them substitute you don't get everything. You can't look for bargains - how do you tell the shopper to look on the nearly-out-of-date shelf first before buying what you want?!
Lots of things that I often buy don't exist on the website.
Apart from that, it's fine!!!!!

Kantankrus_Mare

Since my local asda has stopped accepting coupons I have decided to shop on line at either Tesco or Asda depending on who has the best discount vouchers available.

Done 3 shops up to now (1 with Asda and two with Tesco)

Found them both fine and assuming the process will become quicker as I build up my favourites list.

I'm quite boring and tend to buy the same things week in week out but this can be good in the fact your not tempted to go over the top.

My only downside is that I used a code for 1000 extra points at Tesco and it hasnt showed on my card yet but I shall be chasing it up!!

neets

I've been ordering online from Tesco for a while now. I have to say that I rarely have any substitutions and those that have been substituted, either they have been acceptable, or they have readily been taken back by the driver. There is of course the option to specify that you do not want a product substituted when you order.

It used to be that the main reason i ordered online was because I didn't have a car and was unable to do a large shop. I now have a car and I have to say that ordering online is still the way to go for me, mainly to prevent me buying products that i don't need. I found myself spending way more than i needed buying in store. Plus when you are in a store I find that you do not have the opportunity or time to search for the cheapest product you want, especially when it is busy and you are weaving in and out of mad trolley bashers! Maybe that's just my preference as I admittedly lack patience when dealing with rogue trolleys.

I do agree that buying fresh produce online is not the best, you need to use your shopping savvy to buy the items that look good to you, and I am sure that online shoppers are given a raw deal when ordering fresh.

I will continue to order online, use the vouchers that will benefit me and opt to buy fresh veg etc from a local grocer when it's needed. This is the most economical and convenient combination for me.

squeaky

neets wrote:

There is of course the option to specify that you do not want a product substituted when you order.

I did my first shop with asda on line this weekend and the only time I saw a thing about substitutions was right at the end - either yes or no. I didn't see anything for individual items to say, for instance, that I didn't want salted butter subbed for the unsalted... so I've had to say no subs for anything. Did I miss it somewhere in the asda pages while shopping?

neets

squeaky wrote:

I did my first shop with asda on line this weekend and the only time I saw a thing about substitutions was right at the end - either yes or no. I didn't see anything for individual items to say, for instance, that I didn't want salted butter subbed for the unsalted... so I've had to say no subs for anything. Did I miss it somewhere in the asda pages while shopping?

Sorry Squeaky, I can only comment on the options offered by shopping online with Tesco, I've never used Asda before. With Tesco there is a 'Write Note' option underneath each product where you have the following options to make a note to the person packing if the item is not available:

1. find a suitable alternative
2. look for this item instead .... (you specify the item)
3. don't substitute

you can also add a short note to the item, of your own specification e.g. requesting a long best before date.

But to be honest, I never use the 'write note' option! I do believe it's dependent on the store you have access to which determines your success in getting all the items you want

squeaky

Yeah, I've seen that with tesco too, just didn't spot anything similar with asda - and I just HAD to take advantage of their ten quid off a thirty pound shop for a first time user.