Online grocery shopping refers to buying grocery items from an online shopping service. Basically, there are online stores which can be local, national or international. You need to choose the items you want to buy. Pretty much similar to the way you buy clothes from Amazon or Flipkart.

While online shopping you can either order from a local store that indulges in online shopping, so that they can arrange everything you have placed an order for and you can pick them up on getting notified. Otherwise, you can also shop from big online stores like Amazon and get your products delivered at the doorstep. The popularity of online shopping is soaring up as it saves a tremendous amount of time and supports people’s convenience.

Why Grocery Shop Online?

With everything getting managed from an online  portal, nowadays, the rising popularity of online shopping is not at all surprising. Though at first it might sound awkward as to how you can buy food items without actually seeing them, believe me, it works perfectly fine. And in this time of pandemic, when Lockdown is imposed at several places, online grocery shopping has come to the rescue of these people. This itself gives us an important reason.

Online Grocery Shopping does not require you to travel to the grocery stores. It saves time and relieves you of the exhaustion of travelling and carrying bags full of groceries.

It becomes extremely favorable for elderly people who are living alone. Just a few clicks and everything they want is at their doorstep. Even for people in this fast paced world, squeezing out time for traditional grocery shopping is next to impossible. Besides, while shopping on international online stores, you can get access to certain items that you could have never found in your local stores.

 

Different Online Grocery Shopping Options

Having known what online grocery shopping is, let’s now look at all the different choices you can opt for while ordering grocery items , online.

Online Delivery:
While shopping with bigger online stores like Walmart and Amazon, you can buy in bulk. They promise to deliver your items on the same day or on the next one.

Local Grocery Stores:
Many local grocery stores allow you to pick up the items you have ordered. Some provide delivery services for the items you have picked from different stores. The pre-bagged pick up option needs you to pick up your bagged products from the store. And the bagged and delivered option delivers your bagged items at your doorstep. 

Online Meal Delivery Kits:
This is becoming increasingly popular. They provide options for a fixed number of meals in a week and send you the raw materials according to your choice. 

What all can you we buy from Online Grocery Shopping?

The groceries are the essential household needs. We need it every day for our personal consumption directly or to be used at a later time. The grocery requirements are changing daily due to the improving food habits and lifestyle. While shopping online you can buy everything that you could have bought from your local store. So you need not worry about that.

The essentials you can purchase online

Staple Food:
These are the daily food which is consumed in a family or a person on a daily basis in certain quantities. The staple food includes rice and dals of various kinds, Edible oils and ghee, Flours, Atta and rava, Masalas and spices, Sugar, jelly and other organic products.

Fresh Food:
This makes the most vital and important items in a grocery list. This includes fresh vegetables direct from the farmer’s house. Then, there are the rich, juicy fruits. There are also foods which are produced by organic farming and mainly composed of green vegetation such as the neem, tulsi, pudina, etc.

Frozen Food:
The frozen food includes such groceries that can be preserved and used for a longer duration of consumption. The frozen food includes both the vegetables items and the non-vegetable items such as the frozen meat.

Meat and seafood:
This includes the fresh meat available at the local store composed of lamb meat, chicken or sausages made out of different meats. Then there are poultry products such as meat direct from the poultry farm. Seafood such as lobster and different crabs and fishes come under this domain.

Bakery and Dairy Products:
This includes the cakes and the bread from different bakeries. They are essential for morning breakfasts. Cows and goat’s milk and eggs are also some important dairy products. Different types of beverages and products made out of milk such as the flavored milk products available in glass bottles.

Sweet dishes:
The sweet dishes are the most preferred items at a grocery store. Indian Sweet dishes can be dried sweets made out of curd and cream or milk. Fruit sweets are also available. Chocolates, candies and mouth fresheners are also included in the list.

Body  products:
The essentials in a grocery shopping list have health and beauty products such as the toothpaste, shampoos, deodorant, body spray and first aid essentials.

Household necessities:
Utensils are very important household necessities, and they include kitchen utensils and the mops and cleaning kit that are essential to keeping the home clean and healthy.

Is grocery shopping really suitable for you? If you completely switch to it, then how is it going to help you out? Will you be missing out on something?  To get answers to all of these questions, let’s go to the next section of the article that is, pros and cons of grocery shopping. 

Pros of Online Grocery Shopping:

Although we have been focusing on giving you an overview of online grocery shopping, and have covered some of the benefits it confers, let’s be a bit more specific and look at all the advantages it has.

Shop at your convenience:
You can place orders 24/7 and don’t have to worry about the fixed store hours. Shop in your leisure, while getting back home from the office or when your kids are at school. This saves time and reduces the exertion of walking around in a grocery store.

Reduce unnecessary expenditure:
While shopping online, you can get back to the cart again and again to check how much you have in store to purchase. This will definitely tie your hands and keep you in budget. Besides, many online stores showcase a comparison of different brands for the same product. So you can get a pocket-friendly shopping experience.

Don’t buy anything extra:
The spick and span arrangement of everything that we wish to possess is very overwhelming inside a grocery store. So we end up buying a lot of things impulsively. A few packets of chips and a handful of candies are a must. But while you shop online, this can surely be avoided. Don’t forget, the money you’ll be able to save.

Get delivered at your choice:
Some platforms can deliver in an hour or two while some might take a day or two. You can choose as per your needs. You can order in advance for a lavish event and even when you suddenly find your sugar can empty. Your groceries will knock on your door whenever you want them to.

Get rid of the monthly hassle:
Every month, making a list of all you want is a big task. But with the online platforms you have to make the list of basic items once and use it every month. Automating the purchase of items you want regularly will free you completely from the worries. They will be automatically delivered to you at regular intervals.

Cons of Online Grocery Shopping:

Everything has a set of merits and a set of demerits. And so does online shopping.  Focus on the points given below to know some of its drawbacks.

Saving money isn’t guaranteed:
Even though you get to compare between brands and choose the most cost-effective item, you might have to pay a bit more in total. Most of the online platforms charge for shipping and even fuel. You could have saved that amount , had you bought groceries offline.

Planning beforehand is needed:
Once you check-out for your products, it’s over. You cannot drive back to your grocery store for things you forgot purchasing. Moreover, if your cravings change and on the dinner table you want something else,  know that it’s not possible. You have to live with what you have ordered.

Items might be missing:
Often grocery items become out of stock. Although most of the time you will be shown a substitution, you might not want to buy it since you have never tried before. Besides, shipping constraints come into play for certain perishable items. So , you might not always get what you want.

Product’s quality might vary:
Here, you don’t get to choose and pick your products. A staff member does it on your behalf. So the quality of fruits or vegetables you would have picked might vary from what the staff member picks. You don’t actually get to see the items you buy. This might be a turn-off for some. 

The fun factor vanishes:
Shopping through screens cannot give you the joy of hunting for products between isles. If you enjoy walking around a store, having a good bargain with the vendor then online shopping might disappoint you. 

Conclusion:

The pace of digitalization compels us to think that the future is getting built on a digital platform. Our previous generations never thought that they could order apples and oranges with just a few clicks. But it is happening. 

Barring the few disadvantages which are inevitable for any idea, online shopping is a safe haven for the people of this busy world. If running around stores and picking up items fazes you or you always forget that you are running out of salt, then make a list and automate it on an online store.  You will get all you want without having to worry about it. Above all, a few clicks are definitely better than titing your legs and sweating profusely inside a teeming grocery store.