How do you do your weekly food shopping online?

There isn't a search feature?
Using a search feature means you have an idea of what you’re, you know, searching for.

My original question had to do with walking through a store and seeing something completely unexpected and saying, “I want that!”

There’s no search function for that, and no way an app or online can match that. Don’t get me wrong, I do my regular shopping list in the app, all my coupons are in the app, it’s probably the app I use the most (after the browser), but for the actual shopping, I do that in person, so I can be totally surprised by something.
 
Using a search feature means you have an idea of what you’re, you know, searching for.

My original question had to do with walking through a store and seeing something completely unexpected and saying, “I want that!”

There’s no search function for that, and no way an app or online can match that. Don’t get me wrong, I do my regular shopping list in the app, all my coupons are in the app, it’s probably the app I use the most (after the browser), but for the actual shopping, I do that in person, so I can be totally surprised by something.
Ah. Yeah, I am not much of an impulse buyer. My husband is, and that's why I do the shopping!
 
The problem is, there are literally hundreds and hundreds of items to scroll through. That would take me an hour or more (I know, I’ve done it), because you’ve got to scroll by red grapes, green grapes, black grapes, cotton candy grapes, bubble gum grapes, and any other specialty grape they happen to have.

I'm not sure I understand. I can scroll all the fresh vegetables in minutes. Does your supermarket have loads more choice than the one I linked to?
 
Ah. Yeah, I am not much of an impulse buyer. My husband is, and that's why I do the shopping!
Here’s another thing, but sort of the same thing; here’s a screenshot of some fresh chicken at Kroger:

87011


Am I really going to see that that chicken is 2-for-1 when I’m scrolling through all the fresh chicken they have? Good chance that I won’t.

In the store, though, I make a point to walk through the meat department, and I can tell you from being there yesterday, that chicken is on an end cap, and there’s a hugh-jass red-and-yellow sign that says “SPECIAL! CHICKEN 2-4-1!” - that, I’m going to see!
 
Here’s another thing, but sort of the same thing; here’s a screenshot of some fresh chicken at Kroger:

View attachment 87011

Am I really going to see that that chicken is 2-for-1 when I’m scrolling through all the fresh chicken they have? Good chance that I won’t.

In the store, though, I make a point to walk through the meat department, and I can tell you from being there yesterday, that chicken is on an end cap, and there’s a hugh-jass red-and-yellow sign that says “SPECIAL! CHICKEN 2-4-1!” - that, I’m going to see!

What intrigued me here is the term 'all natural'! I mean, as opposed to artificial chicken? Does all natural have a specific meaning in food retail in the US?
 
I'm not sure I understand. I can scroll all the fresh vegetables in minutes. Does your supermarket have loads more choice than the one I linked to?
No, yours has more, and your pictures are smaller. I pulled that link up and started scrolling…you know the little scroll bar indicator you get along the right side? I scrolled through five screens before the bottom of it just started to peek through the top edge of the screen.

I can certainly blow through it in several minutes, but that defeats the point of browsing, which is meant to be a leisurely experience, and for me…pictures aren’t the same as the real thing. Pictures, those are stock. Those red grapes are always going to look like those red grapes, even if the ones in the store that week look like crap. I need to see the ones I’m going to buy.

Which leads to another point: when I want grapes, I go into the app, search on grapes, and the first grapes I see, I add those to my list in the app. I don’t care if they’re red, green, black, whatever, because I know when I get to the store, I’m going to look at them and pick out the ones that look best to me.

I do that with a lot of stuff, not just produce. If I want ground beef, I just add the first one that pops up, instead of searching through for whatever blend I want, because I’ll just get what I actually want when I get to the store. I don’t do that with everything, but I do it with a lot of things, even items like sponges or paper towels, beer or cheese. I just grab the first one as a memory jogger that I need cheddar cheese, but I won’t take the time to scroll through and look exactly for Cabot Vermont White Extra-Sharp Cheddar, even though that may be what I buy. Turning my list over to someone else means I need to take a lot of extra time to put on there exactly what I want, and add substitutes, if appropriate.
 
What intrigued me here is the term 'all natural'! I mean, as opposed to artificial chicken? Does all natural have a specific meaning in food retail in the US?
Maybe 2-for-1 means they’re Frankenchicks, with two heads!

Really, it’s just marketing.
 
No, yours has more, and your pictures are smaller. I pulled that link up and started scrolling…you know the little scroll bar indicator you get along the right side? I scrolled through five screens before the bottom of it just started to peek through the top edge of the screen.

Maybe I'm simply speedier at scanning images/scrolling? The link was to all fresh vegetables. I find it really fast to scroll down and pick what I want. But if I'm looking for lettuce, for example, then I can narrow the search and there won't be loads of lettuce to choose from. An on-line shop usually takes me 5 to 10 minutes initially. Then I'll go back later and maybe add or remove a few things.

Here is 'lettuce': 39 items. https://www.ocado.com/search?entry=lettuce
 
I´ve never shopped online and, unless I become housebound or move to a remote island 50 miles off the coast, never will.
I can, however, perfectly understand people who do. My brother´s got serious mobility problems, and he shops online all the time.
Why will I not, however?
Firstly, I want to see what I´m buying and be able to feel it if necessary. I think selecting your own food is not something that can be delegated to a supermarket operative.
Secondly, if there´s anything new, unusual, on offer, or cut price, I´ll only get to see that if I´m physically in the supermarket/market.
Thirdly, I´m gregarious, and I love to wander around a supermarket and talk to people. I hate "talking" to some online ghost or "chatting" to robots.
 
I can certainly blow through it in several minutes, but that defeats the point of browsing, which is meant to be a leisurely experience, and for me…pictures aren’t the same as the real thing. Pictures, those are stock. Those red grapes are always going to look like those red grapes, even if the ones in the store that week look like crap. I need to see the ones I’m going to buy.

Which leads to another point: when I want grapes, I go into the app, search on grapes, and the first grapes I see, I add those to my list in the app. I don’t care if they’re red, green, black, whatever, because I know when I get to the store, I’m going to look at them and pick out the ones that look best to me.

I do that with a lot of stuff, not just produce. If I want ground beef, I just add the first one that pops up, instead of searching through for whatever blend I want, because I’ll just get what I actually want when I get to the store. I don’t do that with everything, but I do it with a lot of things, even items like sponges or paper towels, beer or cheese. I just grab the first one as a memory jogger that I need cheddar cheese, but I won’t take the time to scroll through and look exactly for Cabot Vermont White Extra-Sharp Cheddar, even though that may be what I buy. Turning my list over to someone else means I need to take a lot of extra time to put on there exactly what I want, and add substitutes, if appropriate.
Sorry to hear that Kroger has such inferior produce. Do they have Giant Eagle near you? I always get high quality from their produce department and have been completely satisfied with what the personal shopper has selected.
 
What intrigued me here is the term 'all natural'! I mean, as opposed to artificial chicken? Does all natural have a specific meaning in food retail in the US?
It's in reference to being injected or enhanced with flavoring or sodium. Minimally processed, I guess.
 
Sorry to hear that Kroger has such inferior produce. Do they have Giant Eagle near you? I always get high quality from their produce department and have been completely satisfied with what the personal shopper has selected.
The closest Giant Eagle is in Columbus, maybe 90 minutes away. I’ve been once.

It’s not that Kroger has bad produce (well, some days are worse than others), and like I said earlier, I was very happy with their personal shoppers - the point is, though, how can I be sure they picked out the same grapes/steak/bread I would have picked out? I want that control over my selection, I don’t like delegating it.

When I used curbside, there was always this niggling little voice at the back of my head that would say, “You know…that’s a good-looking cuke, but I’m betting there’s still one there that is 1% better-looking…and you missed it, because you let someone else do your shopping…tsk…tsk…”

To me, picking out things, especially fruit, veg, and meat, is extremely personal and subjective, and I was never fully onboard with turning that over to someone else.
 
The closest Giant Eagle is in Columbus, maybe 90 minutes away. I’ve been once.

It’s not that Kroger has bad produce (well, some days are worse than others), and like I said earlier, I was very happy with their personal shoppers - the point is, though, how can I be sure they picked out the same grapes/steak/bread I would have picked out? I want that control over my selection, I don’t like delegating it.

When I used curbside, there was always this niggling little voice at the back of my head that would say, “You know…that’s a good-looking cuke, but I’m betting there’s still one there that is 1% better-looking…and you missed it, because you let someone else do your shopping…tsk…tsk…”

To me, picking out things, especially fruit, veg, and meat, is extremely personal and subjective, and I was never fully onboard with turning that over to someone else.
The only meat I generally feel that way about is steak. Chicken, pork, ground beef, no problem, but steaks I do like to purchase at a grocery store and pick out myself. But with the price of steak over the past two years I have only bought it a handful of times, and the last few times it was at Meijer when the sales were too good to resist.

We grow a lot of produce in the summer here so I won't be worrying about that for awhile. But my staples of onions, jalapenos, bell peppers, and tomatoes always seem to be quite lovely in winter months when received via curbside. I never get really picky about the way my onions look, LOL. They are fresh and taste good.

To each their own, I suppose, but I love the amount of time saved utilizing curbside service that frees up my time to do other things.
 
To each their own, I suppose, but I love the amount of time saved utilizing curbside service that frees up my time to do other things.
…and that may be the main difference - I absolutely, positively, completely love being in a grocery store and doing my shopping. A grocery store/market is my favorite store, hands-down, and when I’m on my own with no clock or schedule bearing down, I can go to a grocery store and stay in there for hours. I love it. I’d rather do that than just about anything.

It’s why I have a regular rotation of about a dozen grocery stores, from mom-and-pop shops to big megastores and everything in between, built into my grocery shopping routine.
 
Secondly, if there´s anything new, unusual, on offer, or cut price, I´ll only get to see that if I´m physically in the supermarket/market.

Not sure that is totally the case. Ocado is a purely online supermarket and stocks things almost impossible to buy in a physical supermarket. One example of several: puntarelle.

There are also lots of offer on-line. Some are only available to on-line shoppers.
 
Back
Top Bottom