Grocery home delivery shopping is a very tiring chore to do, whether you like it or not. While some may enjoy the idea and look forward to going out and about, hand picking groceries, and driving back home, many don’t particularly appreciate it at all.
However, today, grocery shopping isn’t that gloomy, to be honest. Early 2020 saw many lockdowns being imposed to curb the spread of the virus. Customers began to adapt to the situation at hand and started using online platforms to get their groceries. Today, many brick-and-mortar businesses have started to go digital, groceries and supermarkets included. Shopping for your grocery with home delivery is now made easy considering the number of online stores we can find today.
With the rise in fuel prices, more and more customers are starting to look at ways to cut costs and are reconsidering driving to the store physically.
Even though shopping online makes the whole ordeal a lot more convenient for you as a customer, it can still be just as stressful, especially if you’re not used to it. Following these 5 tips consistently will make your online shopping experience a lot easier.
Plan Ahead
A good practice to have is to plan your meals ahead. Doing a stock take ahead based on the meals you intend to eat during that week, will give you a better idea about what items you have in stock versus what you might end up needing later on.
This will not only help you avoid making multiple orders, but may also lead to more savings, especially if they can be bought and stored in bulk, or on promotion.
Set a budget
It is important to always set a budget for your weekly/monthly grocery purchases. Budget overspending, if not controlled, can easily set you back and potentially lead you into debt if you don’t watch your expenses.
This is why it’s extremely important to keep an eye out and work your groceries into your budget and try not to go beyond it. A 5% overspend might be reasonable, but a 20% increase might be stretching it too far.
Create a Grocery List
Once you know your budget, the next step to take is to create a grocery shopping list. If you had planned ahead, you’d already know what you need to buy for the weeks up ahead. Browsing for products is easy when you’re shopping online, but a good tip is to split your grocery list into 3 parts.
Fresh Goods
These would be fruits, vegetables, meat, dairy, and eggs. Items that only last for a few days at most.
Don’t buy more than what you need. These are best had fresh and can perish quickly, so do not buy too much and have it lead to food waste.
Long-shelf Life Goods
These are items that you can store for months. Rice, flour, sugar, pickles & other fermented goods, etc are all excellent products that you can store for a long time. You can save a lot of money by bulking them in bulk, compared to buying them in short quantities.
Short-shelf Life Goods
These items can last for weeks, and you can buy these in moderate quantities to save a bit of money at the same time. However, do be careful and make sure you don’t buy more than what you’d use, within the recommended use-by dates for these items.
Another tip that can help you save money is to consider downshifting. Oftentimes, supermarkets and groceries have their own store-branded products, like spices, etc that usually cost less than branded products, and taste the same if not very similar to the name brands. Likewise, at times, buying canned foods might be a more sensible option compared to buying fresh. Not only are they just as nutritious & well preserved, but they are also lighter on the wallet too!
Stick To One Store
This is perhaps one of the more challenging aspects of shopping online for groceries. Finding the right store that has everything you’re looking to buy is not something that you will always come by easily. The costs will rise if you buy from more than 1 store, especially if you factor in delivery charges.
Extra delivery cost is not the only issue you will experience, however. You will also have more trouble dealing with and responding to both stores at the same time.
Fortunately, we have new supermarkets like RGrocery who have a wide range of products, making it easier for customers to order their grocery home delivery, all under 1 roof. These tips will not only help you save time & money but also make it easier when you shop online for groceries.
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