Consumer Help Required ... I Need Your Thoughts on On-line Grocery Shopping

laura1988

Hello,

I am a marketing student at the University of Strathclyde in Scotland and I am currently carrying out research for my dissertation on the motivations behind online grocery shopping and would really appreciate some help.

With this research, I am interested in finding out the advantages and disadvantages of online grocery shopping according to consumers, and the motivations behind starting up online grocery shopping (for those who have tried it out).

I would really appreciate it if you could post your thoughts on online grocery shopping - general thoughts, perceived advantages and disadvantages, reasons to start/continue/stop on-line grocery shopping. I will use the findings from this forum to construct a questionnaire which will be posted online in the next month.

I do ask however that any responses must be made by consumers between the ages of 18 and 65 and I can assure that any views will remain anonymous.

Thank you in advance for your help.
Laura.

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Hi Laura,

Just some initial thoughts...

The main reason I do online grocery shopping is that I hate spending my weekend doing the food shopping. I love that I can get in from work and know that all my food shop is arriving at a set time. So mainly the convenience of it.

It was also a God-send when I was heavily pregnant and then a new Mum. I also find that I tend to budget better when doing an online shop. I plan my week's meals around the store's offers and can watch the pennies better as I add stuff to my basket.

Probably like many others, I originally tried out the different supermarkets, but now tend to stick to the same one - based upon the supermarket I know will have decent offers on, will deliver in the time slot they say they will and will not end up substituting half my shopping for other products.

Hope this helps - good luck with the dissertation!

Home_Alone_2

I use Tesco online. I am unwilling to pay £2.40 for a round trip on the bus to the shops, and would need several trips for a whole week's shop. (A 10 litre bag of cat litter every week would be a journey in itself). It is easier to stick to a budget with online shopping, and the shopping is carried up my block to my flat on the second floor. I choose Tesco as its website is better than Asda because substitutions can be specified exactly, whereas with Asda you cannot specify what substituion you want. Tesco also has a one hour delivery timeslot rather than the two hours with Asda. I am delighted with Tesco - absolutely brilliant.

babyfruitella

Home_Alone wrote: »

I use Tesco online. I am unwilling to pay £2.40 for a round trip on the bus to the shops, and would need several trips for a whole week's shop. (A 10 litre bag of cat litter every week would be a journey in itself). It is easier to stick to a budget with online shopping, and the shopping is carried up my block to my flat on the second floor. I choose Tesco as its website is better than Asda because substitutions can be specified exactly, whereas with Asda you cannot specify what substituion you want. Tesco also has a one hour delivery timeslot rather than the two hours with Asda. I am delighted with Tesco - absolutely brilliant.

Do they?? Its a 2 hour slot here which is my only gripe with them.

I started shopping online when my husband started a new job involving shifts. I don’t drive & I don’t trust him to do the shopping on his own (he doesn’t stick to my lists!) so I order online because I know my shopping will arrive within a certain timescale. I also find a save a lot of money this way. I plan my meals for the week & get it all delivered in one go meaning I only need to get bread during the week really. I use Tesco because I prefer their products, & I think their customer service team are fantastic.

Home_Alone_2

babyfruitella wrote: »

Do they?? Its a 2 hour slot here which is my only gripe with them.

Yes, it was a 2 hour slot up until a few weeks ago, when it is now one hour slots. Perhaps it varies according to locations. I am happy with Tesco too.

There have been glitches in the past where the "van has broken down" but now I order late morning or early afternoon delivery slots I don't come across that anymore.

I think I would use Asda rather than Tesco because of the much larger variety of products of the designated Asda home shopping store rather than the designated Tesco store.

As I said, the reason is their lack of facility on their website for substitutions, and I am sure others probably feel the same.

For instance I ordered an Asda Smartprice spaghetti bolognise ready-meal. I ticked substitution was ok, and because they could not deliver the spag bol, they substituted with a Smartprice pasta bake rather than another brand name spag bol. A little matter for some people, but if spag bol is what I want, spag bol is what I want to receive!!!

marmitepotato

I use Tesco and Sainsburys and I have to say that I like Sainsburys a bit better. I like the delivery slots and I like the (small) delivery charges. I work full time and dont want to spend my weekend shopping along with everyone else.

I also like the fact that I can take my laptop into the kitchen and then check my cupboards, fridge and freezer and see whats to be replenished. I can then immediatly order whatever I need. I also love the fact that I can order all my heavy items and they are all brought to me. The driver who brings my shopping brings it all into the kitchen for me and all I have to do is put it away.

I alway look at the offers and buy them if I need them, I dont tend to be swayed to buy stuff which I wouldnt normally buy.

My only grumble is that sometimes I dont get the offers that I have ordered, but then again if I actually go into the store, sometimes all the offers I want have gone anyway.

All in all, where esle can you get someone to pick, pack, and deliver your shopping for £3.50 (Sainsburys) or £3 (Tescos)? Brilliant!!!

anneliza

Hi

I have used online grocery shopping since Tesco introduced it in this area (Years ago)

It is the only way to shop in my opinion. As I am a wheelchair user I find it especially useful, but even if I was fully mobile I would use it.

The thought of driving to the supermarket, loading groceries into the trolley, then loading them on the conveyor belt, then back into the trolley, then into the back of the car and then carrying them into the house seems such a lot of fuss!

I use Tesco, Occado and Waitrose. My favourite at the moment is Occado as I find their web site is user friendly. I pay a monthly charge of £9.99 and can have as many deliveries of £40 as I need, so sometimes I have two a week.

This morning my shopping was delivered at 10am and loaded into the cupboards etc by 1015am. Just imagine how long it would have taken to "do it myself".

I shop around between Tesco and Occado and try to find the cheapest deals, all in the comfort of my own home listening to the radio!

It is a wonderful addition to the modern world!

anneliza

laura1988

Thank you so much for your responses so far, I really appreciate them! I would be interested if anyone else can give me their views... positive or negative!!

Laura

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I use Tesco and I think they are brilliant. I had an operation on my foot a few months ago and I have not been able to go out, so having the shopping delivered has been essential for me. I live in a first floor flat and the drivers never complain about coming up the stairs.

Usually I have the delivery between 11am & 1pm for 3.50, which I think is excellent.

song_of_calliope

I use Tescos sometimes and I do find it's more convenient and that I spend less. What I don't like, though, is not getting to pick out my own fruit and veg. If I want something like avocados, for example, I like to check them in the shop to make sure they're not rock hard, and if they are I won't buy them. With melons I sniff them to make sure they're ripe. When I order online I just get any old avocado or melon and it's almost always one I wouldn't have chosen to buy.

I also quite enjoy going to Tesco and getting out of the house and just browsing around so I sort of miss that when I order online - I think I must be the only one to feel that way though! But in winter there's not much to do around here and sometimes the trip to Tesco is the only time we leave the house at the weekend.

One thing I do really like about ordering online is that you can scroll through all the special offers easily and make sure you're not missing out on anything you'd want to stock up on. Also the delivery guys are always friendly, and if there are any substitutions you don't want, or short-dated items you can give them back and get a refund.

I've just checked and if I want a delivery for tomorrow the fee on Tescos (we don't have any other shops up here that deliver) it would be £5.50 which is too much. I think it's better if you order in advance or for a midday time slot during the week if you're not working.

wyebird

I prefer to shop on line for most things. 95% of my Christmas shopping will be done that way. However for fresh food, I much prefer to do it myself. I am a visual cook, and I love it when you can spot a reduced bargain too :-)

However, my parents live on a boat and online deliveries can be a boon for them when they are miles from anywhere with only a push bike as transport. I think that mobile internet etc has made alternative lifestyles more doable.