Why do you go the supermarket rather than have food delivered?

[Sweetpotaro]

I took my 2 kids to a big Sainsbury's today whereas we normally have a weekly home delivery. It was awful with them messing about etc.

There were, however, lots of other families there.

Why do you choose to go to a physical supermarket rather than a weekly delivery? Is it:

• you enjoy browsing (but with kids in tow - is this not really stressful??)
• you don't spend the minimum spend (I think £50) to get delivery?
• you want the yellow label items?
• you see it as an outing out the house?

Each to their own but interested in other perspectives.

Prefer to pick out my own meat and produce and look hard at the condition and use by dates. Plus I do it while my youngest is at an activity I take her to; good use of time for me until I pick her up again.

No kids, so not your target audience, but I don’t buy enough to meet the minimum for free/cheap delivery. Plus what’s available online is quite different to what’s available in store, and I like getting a bit of inspiration rather than just ordering from my favourites each week. I also buy quite a bit from local shops and the market, so the supermarket is more of a top-up.

Yes to everything you've said! They're always happy to take back short dated items and quite often will refund and let me keep them.

The drivers all know me enough now though to make jokes about the dates etc. I do think it's how you are with them though too :)

It's a thread on a forum. I'm entitled to have my own opinion too:)

I shop at Aldi who don't deliver

I'm carer for DS and so it's a lot easier to have the main weekly shop delivered.

Having said that, though, we live less than 10 mins walk from a Tesco so it is easy to nip out for top up bits when needed.

He is autistic and has ADHD. He gets very anxious in shops.

I hate meal planning and like being spontaneous with what I want to cook over the next couple of days. I live very centrally in a town so I'm always walking past a shop. The idea of planning what I need a few days in advance fills me with dread. Also, plans change a lot!

I probably do 40% online and 60% in person. Loads of reasons to go in person

Get out of the house and break up the day
Grab a coffee
30 mins of keeping kids entertained
Get inspo if I see new foods or things on offer
Online shopping doesn't have everything
When I need ingredients that day
Interactions with adults (!)
Quite enjoy the walk and a browse

HOWEVER

Online shopping is fab for when I need a big shop and especially lots of bits like toilet paper, bottled water, washing powder and kitchen towel

I find sainsburys and Tesco really good, always on time and rarely any substitutions. Staff also really nice by us

I recently stopped getting food deliveries because of the quality of some items. I absolutely HATE HATE HATE going to the supermarket but my younger DD loves it - honestly spend far more going in person and it really annoys me! My sister goes every Sunday morning and that's her "me time" out of the house and she goes for about 3 hours, I don't understand that at all.

I go alone to escape my teenagers.

All of this!!

So that I can get the best use by dates

Presumably, the pickers have to work to a schedule, so they’re not going to be able to spend time finding the longest date products. We’ve had too many deliveries where most of the perishables have that day or the next day’s date on them. I also want to look at the quality.

I know everyone is supposed to meal plan for the week, but sometimes you get inspiration by seeing what’s on the shelves. I don’t enjoy shopping and do it as quickly as possible, but equally, I don’t enjoy faffing about to make sure the stuff I want to eat in three days will still be edible, unless it’s been bought for the freezer.

I go 7am on a Saturday.
I can browse,
I can choose the food that looks the nicest or ripest
I enjoy it
I don't end up with daft substitutions
There are very few people in Tesco at 7am
Teen DS is still asleep
The shelves are full

This. Online shops have, in my experience, ended up with a whole weeks worth of food that goes out of date tomorrow or is already bashed, bruised or on the turn.

It's MY food so I want to choose it or make decisions on substitutions myself.

I rarely do home delivery. I got fed up with short dated on things like cooked meats, yogurts, fresh meat etc. Some stuff was arriving with a next day use by date which isn't helpful when you've nought shopping for the week.
Fruit and veg was never great, often slimy lettuce, soft cucumber, tomatoes that were going off and mouldy soft fruit.
Stuff being out of stock even though its a store that ours comes from and I could guarantee they would substitute it with something stupid.
Just got fed up with getting shit service and shit food so gave up.

I prefer choosing my own meat, fruit, vegetable and dairy products.

I have not been to a supermarket in years. I hate them. Its awful even without the kids.

And me. And strolling round seeing if there are things I fancy that aren't on my list.

Because too many times I've either had crap choices given to me or too many substitutes. Plus, I hate having to wait around for any order. I'd prefer to go and physically choose the best bits of certain foods myself, not have them pick the ratty piece of meat etc.

I’ve barely been inside Sainsbury’s since Covid. Deliveries are so easy, I love it. I do pop to my local Co-Op if we forget something, but generally it’s deliveries all the way for me.

I hate supermarkets so do all my shopping online. However I have noticed the quality of the fruit and veg has gotten a lot worse recently. I read somewhere that deliveries actually cost supermarkets money and are seen as a "necessary evil" so I've wondered if they're doing it to put people off. Won't work for me though, I'll happily trade an old potato to avoid the hell of a Saturday afternoon at Sainsbury's.

You’ve written that like your way is best?
I tried online shopping, too much faff doing the online order, trying to remember everything. Having to be in when it’s delivered, which you never know exactly when that will be. Having the shopping thrown at me when delivered. Too many subs. And you can’t browse. The stuff I did order wasn’t always what I expected - eg tiny loaves of bread turning up.

I get the bulk of my shopping delivered by Ocado each week. In nearly 20 years of using them, I've never had a ridiculous substitution as seems to happen with some online deliveries, it is rare to have a missing item, and I have very few damaged items. I also get meat deliveries from Eversfield from time to time. But I often have to do top up shops, and I like to be able to choose my meat and cheese from Waitrose, and to try new things which I don't necessarily notice when I'm doing my online order. My local Waitrose is never crowded, and I like to be able to stroll round the shop with my free coffee.

I want to be able to make my own choice about substitutions if what I want isn't there.