Online shopping
has become more popular than ever, as e-commerce websites have
sprouted up all over the Internet. Today, people can buy books, CDs,
and clothing from the comfort of their own homes. Now,
marketing/computer buffs have come up with a new gimmick: online
grocery shopping.
Various websites
offer the service, allowing an online shopper to cruise the
cyberaisles to find the best discount on all their favorite
products. Stores like Netgrocer (netgrocer.com) give the shopper the
ability to compare prices on anything from tomatoes to macaroni and
cheese. Once you have finished loading up your cybershopping cart,
Netgrocer specifies a time for the following day to deliver the
goods.
The downside is
that you will get killed paying extra money for the delivery, but
then again, this service is for people who mostly don’t have the
time or ability to run outside to get groceries. It is very specific
in who it is trying to service. Another downside is that it hasn’t
caught on enough for the service to be available in towns or cities
outside of the major metropolitan areas of America.
However, the
upside is that stores like Homegrocer.com plans to add 20 new
delivery areas within next year. Additional e-grocers include
Homeruns (homeruns.com), Webvan (webvan.com) and Peapod
(peapod.com). Each store delivers to selected metropolitan
areas.
Another tidbit
of good news is that local grocery stores are beginning to carry a
modified version of this service as well. Although groceries will
most likely not be delivered to your doorstep, local grocers like
GIANT and Safeway provide a service where you can purchase certain
goods from priceline.com. Once you have selected the groceries that
you want, you pay for it online and then when you visit their store,
you simply show a cashier your membership card and pick up the
products.
Imagine, in a couple of years if you could select the
groceries that you want from a Safeway or GIANT and pay for it
online so that you no longer would have to fight the weekend grocery
store traffic, wait in long lines or travel to the store at 2 in the
morning to move with ease through the store. You simply make your
order and then go pick it up. Marketing teams from these stores are
exploring options like these to make them a reality in our cyber
generation. Gee, I wonder what I would like to get from the store
this week?
