Yes, I can only get some items I like by ordering delivery. Why, I couldn't say, but my favorite banana chip granola bars are never on the shelf when I'm in the store. I still go in and pick my produce if I'm cooking something nice, but for everyday hum drum it's plenty good enough to let someone else do it. And since I only get to cook about once a week I spend maybe 15 minutes in the store.
I feel like we just had this conversation a couple of months ago… 
I think it comes down to shopping style and personality. The way I use the app is to build a list of things I know I need. When I notice the peanut butter is 3/4ths gone, I pop into the app, type “peanut butter,” up comes all the peanut butters they have (as well as anything peanut butter flavored), and I click “Add to list,” and it’s added to my list.
Same thing if I’m menu-planning: “This soup uses chicken, onion, bell pepper, carrots, broth, blah, blah, blah,” so I pull the app and add the things I need. Then, when I’m in the store, I use the app to display my list and to pay on the way out.
What I absolutely, positively do not (and frankly, cannot understand anyone else doing) is “browse” through the app for things that look interesting.
The app isn’t arranged like the store. The store is in aisles and things are grouped similarly, all the cereals are here, all the soups are there, but there’s a starting point in a store. You walk through the doors, and the first area you’re funneled through (if you follow the main aisle) is either the deli & bakery, or the fruit & veg (some stores flip these).
After that, it’s into the numbered aisles (jarred olives in aisle 2, snacking nuts in aisle 8). You can go where you choose, of course, but there’s an order, a beginning, middle, and end.
That doesn’t exist in the app. You sort of have to already know what you’re looking for, or some idea at least, and then you’re faced with scrolling through 5,791 tins of beans to see if something appeals to you.
For me, shopping from home using the app is great when I already know what I want, but shopping in the store is better when I’m open to being surprised by something.
I bought fresh chicken wings the last trip because they were on a special price displayed on an endcap, with a big sign. That’s not ever going to happen in the app, because I’d never sit down with the app and say, “Hmmmm…what about…chicken wings?! Oh look, they’re on sale!”
Here’s a little quirk of mine: my local Kroger, in addition to the unnumbered deli/bakery, fruit/veg, fresh meats, and dairy sections, has (I think) 26 numbered aisles - all the pantry stuff, plus frozen items, school/office supplies, and whatever they deem “seasonal” (Halloween candy right now).
I always shop with a list. It’ll have anything from 5-15 items on it usually. Let’s say I have 5 - bread, milk, ground beef, eggs, beer.
Now, what is the habit of the other members, when shopping in-store with this list? Is it to proceed from one department to the next for those five items (bakery to meats to dairy to drinks), or is it to start in the bakery (at the beginning), then walk up and down all the aisles to see what else looks interesting, and getting your five items along the way (along with five things you knew nothing about before you walked in the store)?
If you’re the former, maybe you like the app better, but I’m definitely the latter, at least where groceries are concerned. Maybe I have GSRFOMO (Grocery Store-Related Fear Of Missing Out)!
I think it comes down to shopping style and personality. The way I use the app is to build a list of things I know I need. When I notice the peanut butter is 3/4ths gone, I pop into the app, type “peanut butter,” up comes all the peanut butters they have (as well as anything peanut butter flavored), and I click “Add to list,” and it’s added to my list.
Same thing if I’m menu-planning: “This soup uses chicken, onion, bell pepper, carrots, broth, blah, blah, blah,” so I pull the app and add the things I need. Then, when I’m in the store, I use the app to display my list and to pay on the way out.
What I absolutely, positively do not (and frankly, cannot understand anyone else doing) is “browse” through the app for things that look interesting.
The app isn’t arranged like the store. The store is in aisles and things are grouped similarly, all the cereals are here, all the soups are there, but there’s a starting point in a store. You walk through the doors, and the first area you’re funneled through (if you follow the main aisle) is either the deli & bakery, or the fruit & veg (some stores flip these).
After that, it’s into the numbered aisles (jarred olives in aisle 2, snacking nuts in aisle 8). You can go where you choose, of course, but there’s an order, a beginning, middle, and end.
That doesn’t exist in the app. You sort of have to already know what you’re looking for, or some idea at least, and then you’re faced with scrolling through 5,791 tins of beans to see if something appeals to you.
For me, shopping from home using the app is great when I already know what I want, but shopping in the store is better when I’m open to being surprised by something.
I bought fresh chicken wings the last trip because they were on a special price displayed on an endcap, with a big sign. That’s not ever going to happen in the app, because I’d never sit down with the app and say, “Hmmmm…what about…chicken wings?! Oh look, they’re on sale!”
Here’s a little quirk of mine: my local Kroger, in addition to the unnumbered deli/bakery, fruit/veg, fresh meats, and dairy sections, has (I think) 26 numbered aisles - all the pantry stuff, plus frozen items, school/office supplies, and whatever they deem “seasonal” (Halloween candy right now).
I always shop with a list. It’ll have anything from 5-15 items on it usually. Let’s say I have 5 - bread, milk, ground beef, eggs, beer.
Now, what is the habit of the other members, when shopping in-store with this list? Is it to proceed from one department to the next for those five items (bakery to meats to dairy to drinks), or is it to start in the bakery (at the beginning), then walk up and down all the aisles to see what else looks interesting, and getting your five items along the way (along with five things you knew nothing about before you walked in the store)?
If you’re the former, maybe you like the app better, but I’m definitely the latter, at least where groceries are concerned. Maybe I have GSRFOMO (Grocery Store-Related Fear Of Missing Out)!
…and the next time you’re visiting your son in Cincy, let’s meet up at the big Jungle Jim’s in Fairfield (not the smaller one you went to in Eastgate).Don´t let me loose in an unknown supermarket...
Dude…we need to shop*!
*25 years ago, that would have been “Dude…we need to party!” but times change!
I think you have successfully diagnosed yourself. I browse the produce department. In all others I get what's on my list and get out. If I don't I come home with a bunch of random stuff and nothing for a complete meal. Then I have to go back to get the things I need to complete the meal I started with a random purchase. For instance, one thing I am likely to buy that's not on my list is raw flour tortillas. They aren't on my list because I don't need either the carbs or calories, and also I am the only one that eats them. But when I see them in the store I forget all that. I just see them on the griddle, puffing up beautifully and getting gorgeous brown spots on them and then slathering them with butter while still hot. So I buy them, get home and realize that for everyone to eat them I am going to have to make a pot of green chili meat so back I go for a pork loin and chilis, broth and whatever else I need. Then I have to cook it and I end up not making whatever meal I wanted to begin with. And it was probably healthier.I feel like we just had this conversation a couple of months ago…
I think it comes down to shopping style and personality. The way I use the app is to build a list of things I know I need. When I notice the peanut butter is 3/4ths gone, I pop into the app, type “peanut butter,” up comes all the peanut butters they have (as well as anything peanut butter flavored), and I click “Add to list,” and it’s added to my list.
Same thing if I’m menu-planning: “This soup uses chicken, onion, bell pepper, carrots, broth, blah, blah, blah,” so I pull the app and add the things I need. Then, when I’m in the store, I use the app to display my list and to pay on the way out.
What I absolutely, positively do not (and frankly, cannot understand anyone else doing) is “browse” through the app for things that look interesting.
The app isn’t arranged like the store. The store is in aisles and things are grouped similarly, all the cereals are here, all the soups are there, but there’s a starting point in a store. You walk through the doors, and the first area you’re funneled through (if you follow the main aisle) is either the deli & bakery, or the fruit & veg (some stores flip these).
After that, it’s into the numbered aisles (jarred olives in aisle 2, snacking nuts in aisle 8). You can go where you choose, of course, but there’s an order, a beginning, middle, and end.
That doesn’t exist in the app. You sort of have to already know what you’re looking for, or some idea at least, and then you’re faced with scrolling through 5,791 tins of beans to see if something appeals to you.
For me, shopping from home using the app is great when I already know what I want, but shopping in the store is better when I’m open to being surprised by something.
I bought fresh chicken wings the last trip because they were on a special price displayed on an endcap, with a big sign. That’s not ever going to happen in the app, because I’d never sit down with the app and say, “Hmmmm…what about…chicken wings?! Oh look, they’re on sale!”
Here’s a little quirk of mine: my local Kroger, in addition to the unnumbered deli/bakery, fruit/veg, fresh meats, and dairy sections, has (I think) 26 numbered aisles - all the pantry stuff, plus frozen items, school/office supplies, and whatever they deem “seasonal” (Halloween candy right now).
I always shop with a list. It’ll have anything from 5-15 items on it usually. Let’s say I have 5 - bread, milk, ground beef, eggs, beer.
Now, what is the habit of the other members, when shopping in-store with this list? Is it to proceed from one department to the next for those five items (bakery to meats to dairy to drinks), or is it to start in the bakery (at the beginning), then walk up and down all the aisles to see what else looks interesting, and getting your five items along the way (along with five things you knew nothing about before you walked in the store)?
If you’re the former, maybe you like the app better, but I’m definitely the latter, at least where groceries are concerned. Maybe I have GSRFOMO (Grocery Store-Related Fear Of Missing Out)!
So yeah. I'm happy to take all that temptation off the table and have my stuff delivered.
That happens to me all the time!
karadekoolaid
Legendary Member
Book a whole weekend, please...
I´ve been there three times. The first, I took a video of the "Hot Sauce" section - only about 10,000 sauces to choose from...
They’re opening a Dorothy Lane location in Mason next year. That’ll be well worth a visit. Boutique versus superstore, but I think you’ll like it…Book a whole weekend, please...
I´ve been there three times. The first, I took a video of the "Hot Sauce" section - only about 10,000 sauces to choose from...
karadekoolaid
Legendary Member
Mason is where my DIL works. I could drop her off at 8am for work, wait outside Jungle Jim´s till it opens, then pick her up about 7pm...
I've often bought things at on-line supermarkets which were unexpected. And I do 'browse' them. Maybe the apps you use are different from the websites here. One example for me would be puntarelle - I didn't even know this existed until I saw it on offer at an on-line supermarket. I also tried bavette steak for the first time due to browsing Morrison's website.
We talked about this earlier and even shared screenshots of our respective store's app layouts, and they're weren't much different.
Something that just now occurs to me...you're browsing a website, it sounds like, whereas I'm browsing an app on a phone. That is a much different experience, as the phone app has to be designed to show very little up front, for simplicity related to a small screen, and more things are hidden behind menus (tap, tap, tap, and tap some more - I ain't got time for that!).
Maybe that's the difference between us. I don't have a laptop (really, that's so 2010!
), except for my work one, and Kroger's website is blocked on that (CookingBites used to be blocked, but Somebody Up There likes me, because it isn't any longer). I just went shopping today, so here's a real-world, real-time experience:
On my list, I had:
Paper towels
Cherry tomatoes
Mushrooms
Water
Bread
Peppercorns
Pork chops
Cucumber
I bought all that, and this as well:
Corn flakes (walking through the cereal reminded me I'd washed out a container yesterday and needed to buy a box to fill it)
Lower sodium bacon (something for MrsT to try with WeightWatchers)
Tajin seasoning (saw it in a recipe yesterday, didn't know what it was, set aside the recipe, saw the seasoning for the first time today)
Turkey cheddar sausage links (same as lower sodium bacon)
Chicken breakfast sausage links (remembered that MrsT liked these the last time we had them)
Garlic (forgot that I was on the last head until I saw them in the store)
Bananas (probably shouldn't count those as I buy them pretty much every time I'm in the store)
Peaches (MrsT was just saying how she already missed peach season, I saw these, gave them a squeeze, and they felt...ok)
Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Thins, both white and dark (Low-point WeightWatchers-approved chocolate treat)
Hot dog buns (to go with the turkey cheddar sausage links)
Baby butter lettuce (MrsT likes butter lettuce the best, haven't seen these before, so I bought them to try)
Celery (same as garlic)
Carrots (same as celery and garlic)
Now, I ask you, would I have bought all that stuff if I'd just stuck to the app? No, of course not! Kroger is happy that I spent more money, and I'm happy that I got more stuff.
JAS_OH1
Forum GOD!
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Okay, now we have insight that explains a lot. I too hate "shopping" via an app on my phone. Yes, it isn't nearly as user friendly as a large desktop (or laptop) screen. Which is why I don't do it. However, I do like to select what I want to buy (using my computer, not phone) if I am not going to utilize the curbside service and then when I go into the store I can pull up the app and my cart is there so I can just breeze through the store.We talked about this earlier and even shared screenshots of our respective store's app layouts, and they're weren't much different.
Something that just now occurs to me...you're browsing a website, it sounds like, whereas I'm browsing an app on a phone. That is a much different experience, as the phone app has to be designed to show very little up front, for simplicity related to a small screen, and more things are hidden behind menus (tap, tap, tap, and tap some more - I ain't got time for that!).
Maybe that's the difference between us. I don't have a laptop (really, that's so 2010!
I just went shopping today, so here's a real-world, real-time experience:
On my list, I had:
Paper towels
Cherry tomatoes
Mushrooms
Water
Bread
Peppercorns
Pork chops
Cucumber
I bought all that, and this as well:
Corn flakes (walking through the cereal reminded me I'd washed out a container yesterday and needed to buy a box to fill it)
Lower sodium bacon (something for MrsT to try with WeightWatchers)
Tajin seasoning (saw it in a recipe yesterday, didn't know what it was, set aside the recipe, saw the seasoning for the first time today)
Turkey cheddar sausage links (same as lower sodium bacon)
Chicken breakfast sausage links (remembered that MrsT liked these the last time we had them)
Garlic (forgot that I was on the last head until I saw them in the store)
Bananas (probably shouldn't count those as I buy them pretty much every time I'm in the store)
Peaches (MrsT was just saying how she already missed peach season, I saw these, gave them a squeeze, and they felt...ok)
Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Thins, both white and dark (Low-point WeightWatchers-approved chocolate treat)
Hot dog buns (to go with the turkey cheddar sausage links)
Baby butter lettuce (MrsT likes butter lettuce the best, haven't seen these before, so I bought them to try)
Celery (same as garlic)
Carrots (same as celery and garlic)
Now, I ask you, would I have bought all that stuff if I'd just stuck to the app? No, of course not! Kroger is happy that I spent more money, and I'm happy that I got more stuff.
There is no shame in having multiple devices. I have a laptop, 2 desktops, and my phone. I like having the desktop in my office, one in the kitchen, and the laptop for travel (especially when working out of town--I hate using hotel's business centers unless I have to print something which is extremely rare), and then I just use my phone when I am out and about (or sometimes in the kitchen), and while lying in bed before going to sleep or if I wake up and can't sleep. Also I tend to wake up early in the morning but I love love love just lying in bed, so I sometimes play word games and browse the forum.
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My two desktop computers are 27-inch iMacs. Switching to my iPhone to browse is torture.
CD
To be clear on my laughing emoji concerning laptops, I’m laughing at my own statement, not laughing at anyone who has a laptop. I’m poking fun at myself being a late-50’s old fart and acting like I’m all with-it.
To be clear on my laughing emoji concerning laptops, I’m laughing at my own statement, not laughing at anyone who has a laptop. I’m poking fun at myself being a late-50’s old fart and acting like I’m all with-it.
To be clear on MY laughing emoji concerning laptops, I am laughing at your statement.
CD
I personally can't survive without either, a laptop and a phone. I use my phone most. I use the laptop for work, classes, and one game I've played since 2010. I use my phone for most emails unless I know they are going to be long, for browing, and I love well designed apps that keep me from having to get onto my computer.
The one store I go to and browse in is Aldi. There is always something new to try.
The one store I go to and browse in is Aldi. There is always something new to try.