Is Online Food Shopping Cheaper?

anotheruser

I have been toying with online food delivery for a while.

I mainly shop at Asda. There is a small Asda supermarket near me, which does sell pretty much everything you may need but there is limited choice of smart price items.

I am thinking by shopping at the supermarket, maybe I can cut down on my food bill (although it isn't high).

However for those that do food shopping online, has it worked out cheaper? Is it something you regularly do? How do you off-set cost of delivery?

madvixen

I've shopped online a few times with Tesco, JS and Asda. With Tesco and JS, I was able to use new customer vouchers which gave me £15 off a £60 spend. This was really handy in the run up to Christmas as I could buy some goodies that I normally wouldn't.

I didn't like online shopping with Asda as the dates were terrible, although they did refund me when I raised this with CS. I wouldn't shop with them again though.

JS had good dates but I don't like their substitution policy. If you get a substitution that's more expensive then you pay the more expensive price. Tesco however charge you the price of the item you originally ordered.

I won't shop instore at Tesco but I can't fault their online service.

There are plenty of new customer/free delivery codes around at the moment so it's worth a google search.

xKayx

It works out cheaper in that you can clearly see every deal such as everything reduced to £1 and offers such as buy one get one free all together whereas in the shop you only see the odd few.

I find it works out cheaper because I can take my time deciding if I do or don't actually need something whereas you feel a bit rushed in the shop.

I think the cost of delivery is a bit much but if you choose an off peak time its cheaper.

MissMonkeyMoo

I've been doing my main food shop online for a while online and I would say that it is cheaper. The prices themselves are usually the same as in store (not always would you believe) but the difference is you are less likely to be tempted by things that you don't need but end up putting into your trolley because it is conveniently placed at the end of the aisle you are walking past! You do tend to only buy the things you need, and you can do it from the comfort of your own home so no trying to find a parking space or having trolley rage whilst trying to get through hoards of other shoppers. Personally, I've found sainsburys to be the worst (they substituted a pack of frozen cherries with a blackforest gateau), asda is ok but the fruit and veg is sometimes a bit suspect and the use by dates on items very poor. They also don't have certain items online even though they are available in the store. I asked customer services why and they said it was because these certain items (onken yoghurt) were not poplar enough! Really don't understand that! Tesco has the best service, website is easy to use, fruit and veg is exceptional and subs are good. Delivery costs can be kept low by selecting particular days and times and I think the fact you haven't got the hassle of going to the store is worth the few quid!

FLAPJACK

Also thinking of putting a toe in the water regarding online food shopping, my DIL does it and says it saves her a lot of time and as said here she is not tempted to buy things on a whim.

Only thing she has found is sometimes the "sell by" dates can be pretty short.

As for subs, she did have to smile when Tescos had substituted a "feminine" item with kebab skewers!!!....she couldn't work out why another brand of "feminine" items were not sent instead.

Someone with a sense of humour me thinks!

Edwardia

I've tried ASDA, Iceland, Ocado, Sainsbury's, Tesco and Waitrose.

It is much easier to find offers on a website than in a supermarket and personally, it's easier to stick to a list online and not get distracted in store.

Having shopping delivered saves a lot of time. It's possible to get free/cheap delivery slots so that can save money too.

I find the best service comes from Ocado, Waitrose and Iceland.

paulwellerfan

but iceland dont deliver though

p00hsticks

Edwardia wrote: »

It is much easier to find offers on a website than in a supermarket ....

I shop in person, and have a choice of all the main supermarkets with the exception of Waitrose.

However, before I go I do online and use mysupermarket.com to

a) find out the special offers on in each store and
b) see which is the cheapest of the main supermarkets for the products I actually need

this will determine which supermarket(s) we actually visit on a particular day.

The website now has Aldi (as well as the original choices of Asda, Tesco, Sainsbury's and Ocado) but no Morrisions or Lidl

p00hsticks

paulwellerfan wrote: »

but iceland dont deliver though

they do deliver, but you can't order online (although I think they might be trialling this in some regions ?). You go instore, make your purchases as normal and they'll then deliver it later in the day for free providing you've spent over a certain amount.

GlynD

I've done online shopping with both Tesco and Asda. In my experience it wasn't any cheaper. What I did find was that, to me anyway, it was a rather complicated way to shop. I couldn't put any system in place to help me find what I needed.

I would do it again but not to get my shopping cheaper. I would do it to save me going to the supermarket if I didn't feel like it or was unwell and wasn't up to going out. Overall I think it's a fantastic service, barring the fact that they sometimes change the products if something is out of stock.

bee11

I find it cheaper shopping online.

I do a big shop roughly every two weeks and spend about £90 for two adults. Some people spend near that amount every week. When I went once a week in person I was spending about £60 plus.

with sainsburys I get stapled to my receipt vouchers for free online delivery or fuel savings.
It is handy that some shops will remember your normal items.

there are some things i miss though. They will list items that are not in my local one and i have to have a substitute.
You order things and the picture can be hard to see exactly what you are getting. I like to see what I am buying.

Hard to shop aisle by aisle.

Hard to compare items. I normally buy the same items each week (ie value range) but sometimes i miss a bit better quality. For example cooking sauces it's nice seeing them all on the shelf an at a glance comparing offers/deals.
online shop is for you if - you like the convenience of it being delivered to maybe you are not well or have a sick child or work long hours. I often get it delivered between 9-10 pm. I save fuel especially if I can get free delivery.

you don't have to deal with people! I love not having to see or bother with people getting in my way or grumpy staff.

you are not tempted with offers on the end of aisles or impulse buys. I sit with a list and search for the items on my list so am not tempted with deals.

if like me you buy a lot of value/basics. I don't care I buy cheap stuff but I know people who feel embarrassed to be seen buying it. especially if like me you live in a very small area where everyone knows each other.