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.

I mainly shop at Aldi or Lidl and they don’t deliver. I’ve used home delivery before with all of the supermarkets but the substitutes used to drive me mad and I like seeing the meat, fruit and veg I’m buying.

I has this from Sainsbury's - I ordered a few packs of their own brand white breadbuns and they substituted to the same value with Kingsmill!! It was half the number of buns!! 😡

The weird substitutes I prefer to pick an alternative x

It’s a good way to entertain a toddler on a winter afternoon. They get to scan the groceries with Scan & Shop from their seat on the trolley, I get a quick browse of the clothes and I get to choose the best/long dated produce.

I get food delivered, but sometimes they don't deliver what I have ordered. The supermarket I order from doesn't have the bread that I like, neither do they have the apples I prefer and they don't sell un-filled bao buns. Sometimes we run out of things before the next order is due.
Also - we do quite like going in to see if there are any yellow-stickered bargains, but we wouldn't go in just for that (except just after Christmas).

I hardly ever take the DCs shopping because it's stressful and I spend too much! I enjoy having a browse though and I go quite late in the evening so get the yellow sticker items. I probably save around £15 a shop just because of the reductions so it's well worth it to me.

I like to choose my own off the shelf, make sure I pick the best quality and it's got longest shelf live.
I don't want to think about what I'm eating days in advance, I rather just go when I need something and not wait for a delivery time slot. Substitutions are annoying.
The only time I've used delivery is when I've just had a baby or car / health issues.

I live on my own so I probably wouldn’t reach the minimum spend, but also the supermarket’s 10 mins walk away & next to the gym & down the road from the coffee shop, so it’s easy to go before work a couple of mornings a week when it’s quiet & do two or three things at once. Plus the substitutions thing sounds like a pain in the neck.

When I was down with COVID recently I got Deliveroo to drop some shopping off for me - came very quickly & didn’t have a minimum cost - but that’s not something I’d make a habit of.

The big shop gets delivered, I only pop in for top up bits here and there.

I never step foot in a supermarket unless it's unavoidable.

We alternate with Ocado and Waitrose, never had a bad piece of fruit/veg and meat is always fine. Life's too short to choose your own from a shelf

I buy for the month, so tinned stuff, cleaning stuff, toiletries and some dairy like butter, cheese and milk I have delivered as I freeze it.
I go to the butchers and bulk buy the meat for the month as they don't deliver.
Everything else I physically go to the supermarket for because it gives me an excuse to browse the clothing too.

The yellow sticker shelf! I hit the jackpot at M&S last week. We had half-price curries for dinner, cheap sandwiches & salads for lunch the next day & the freezer is full of bargains.

It teaches my kids to shop properly. And, conveniently, it kills an hour or so while giving us the opportunity to talk.

My 7-year-old understands how to compare prices, choose decent produce and is gaining independence by getting a few items for me themselves (say, if I forgot something from 3 aisles down). It helps us meal plan. It helps my children learn to communicate if they need to ask for help from a shop assistant. They manage their pocket money if they want to buy something.

I see no downside, really, as long as people keep their kids in check and don't allow them to treat a supermarket like a playground.

I like to pick my own fruit/ veg/ meat. I also love a yellow sticker bargain!

I think it's a good learning opportunity for children- if they never go to a shop they won't learn how to behave in a shop!

In all the time I've been having deliveries I've had very few substitutions and those that I have have been fine.

But like others I like to choose my own fruit, veg, meat and fish. Also I like occasionally having a wander round just to see what's new. Online you tend to go for the things you know you like/want and can miss out on something new or different that you'd like to try.

Partly because I plan meals quite carefully, and if one thing isn’t available it might mean I no longer need the other three or four things that would have made up that meal.
I also like to choose specific items, for example to try and make sure that a pack of two chicken breasts doesn’t consist of one enormous one and one tiny one.
Also because of the meal planning it’s a pita if the food meant for Tuesday turns up with a use by date of Sunday.
But mainly because I like to get out and about and feel like I’m participating in a life that isn’t a never-ending version of lockdown. I work from home most days, I don’t need more excuses not to leave the house. Leaving the house is good for you.

It's so true about children needing to learn how to shop, it's an underrated skill. Meal planning, staying in a budget, getting the longest dates and the best fruit and veg are all so important.

I genuinely enjoy shopping in supermarkets, I am (& I appreciate this is maybe quite niche) really interested in retail ... it's been my career all my life, I love seeing how products are displayed, the 'philosophy' behind marketing, innovative new products, comparing customer service, brand loyalty etc etc. I can happily visit two or three supermarkets.
No one is ever rude or off hand to me in supermarkets..I get to know the staff and find them helpful, friendly and kind ... especially to my elderly mother.
I like to choose my own fresh products and, of course, get the yellow sticker bargains.
I've never done an on line food shop in my life, even during Covid, it just doesn't appeal. Maybe it's a bit sad that I clearly didn't have anything better to do with my time .
But I choose to shop at quieter times and rarely took my DC or DH ... why people shop in big groups I don't understand .. unless there are specific circumstances.

I used to love a weekly shop even with the kids in tow as we would make it a little outing where I would buy them a treat and we would go for some lunch as well. The delivery services I had tried had been awful in my area (Sainsbury’s / Asda / Tesco ) with awful substitutes and Tesco would regularly not deliver at the time slot selected and take the shopping back so I never even got it.
HOWEVER… kids got older and didn’t want to come anymore, and I found Ocado who have hardly any subs - those that are are for a similar product and they are so reliable that I moved to online only with Ocado in 2017 and never looked back!

I do get a weekly delivery , DH will set it up then we all sit and review it ( there's four adults plus two cats).

I will go in about once a month as I have FOMO. Sometimes see something new or something out of stock online but instore .

When DS was younger it was a fun way of getting him to use maths - price/100g , something on special offer isn't always cheaper , bigger pack not always better value .

When he got older I'd get him to meet me after the gym and help , so he knows how much food costs , how to pack etc.

Now with delivery I do prefer to pick my own fruit and veg instore , or one of the DC will pick things up.

The only 2 times I used a delivery service was when I've been ill with flu or Covid.

I rarely spend €50 in one supermarket as I go to Aldi, Lidl, the farm co-op and Supervalu because they sell different items and I also buy reduced price items to freeze. Supervalu is best for that as there's usually 2-3 days till best before date. The farm co-op also sells tasty handmade ready meals that are perfect for the freezer.

However, I wouldn't ever take my son shopping with me as he walks less than a foot behind me and I'd be tripping over him all the time. 🤦🏻‍♀️

When he was younger, I'd leave him at home with DH and I'd have a chill and a coffee before starting the food shopping. Bliss.

I live rurally so having supermarket deliveries does save me commuting time. I can get same day deliveries on my package so long as I book before 12 that day. I had deliveries before covid but still had a browse round the shops most weeks. During covid - and when we still needed masks - I rarely went to the supermarket in person as I hated masks so much and the weird one way systems.
I'm only just now starting to visit supermarkets in person more regularly to simply browse. I still do the bulk of my weekly shop online. I rarely get substitutions or bad produce though, if I did I might be less keen. I got deliveries during covid too and the subs in those times has meant I tried (and liked) things I might not have ever picked up so not all subs are bad.

Because I like browsing for snacks 😂.

The substitutions drive me mental - and they don’t include related items eg if they don’t have the bacon, I don’t want the cabbage either, I’d probably go for roast beef and carrots. Instead I get offered Smokey bacon crisps and I end up googling recipes to pickle cabbage.

Because I shop at Aldi and Lidl and they don't deliver-the things I buy regularly are just so much cheaper there, plus they do some products I genuinely like more.
Because I like to choose my fruit and veg individually.
Because I like to look at the reduced sections!