Question about online food shopping

[Jemster]

Hi
I'm going back to work soon after ml and am trying to find ways of getting more organised before then.
A friend suggested doing the weekly shop online. I think she said she has a list saved of all her regular items she needs each week and this is automatically delivered to her at the same time each week. She only has to go on and add new things if needed.

I've had a look tonight at the various online sites but I can't see where you can do this. Is this correct as it sounds very handy? I've always been put off at the thought of spending a whole night on laptop trying to compile the order.

The first time you do an internet grocery shop will probably take a while, as you add all your regular items, but I can now do a basic weekly shop in about 10 minutes. Definitely worth the (small) hassle of setting it up.

I've used Sainsburys and Ocado, which sites are you looking at?

I've used Tesco like this. If you shop instore and use a clubcard it uses that info as well as the online info to compile a favourites list. It takes a while to get used to it but then is dead easy once set up

Hi Rhinestone
I have had a quick look at them all but a long time ago I used Tesco and Sainsburys a couple of times but I didn't stick to it as it seemed yo take quite a while. I must have been doing something wrong. I know there's a list of favourites but don't you have to still manually request them each time and the quantities?

You can save a shopping list, or more than one. Then add all items.

The first few shops take longer because you are starting up a list. By the time you have shopped a few times they store a list of your previous orders as your favourites so it simply becomes a box ticking exercise. If I was to go to Tesco for a big shop it would take a minimum of one and a half hours. An online shop takes about 20 minutes.

I have used Tesco online for many years and am extremely satisfied with the service.

It does take a while to set up first time but becomes easier. As pp say, the "favourites" option means a list naturally evolves over a few shops, and Tesco at least bring clubcard data over which helps a lot.

As an aside, a super organised friend inspired me that it doesn't hav me to be a "weekly" shop, I found I'd run out of too many things as I found it easier to control over-shopping with that basket totting up in front of me on screen. Mine are now every 5-6 days with the odd mini-mart top up of milk or bread plus trips to butchers or farmers markets for special meals.

It also feels like the future when I sit on my handheld computer in bed telling the Tesco computer what the man should bring into my kitchen tomorrow and saves me the time & hassle of amusing a toddler in a busy supermarket on a packed weekend.

A lot of the online grocery shop apps allow you to scan items in your kitchen with the camera on your phone which is really useful, and means you can get the kids to do the work for you.

Honestly, tis easy once you've done the first shop (and your regular stuff is saved as favourites).

I've just done my weekly shop from the sofa while watching tv, and it will arrive as soon as I get back from the school run tomorrow. So much quicker than traipsing round the supermarket with three DCs. I have the same slot each week (Wednesday is the cheapest day for Tesco, at least).

What you mentioned about your friend doing sounds like an Ocado Reserved, where you book the same time slot each week, and it builds up a list of the kind of things that you buy regularly and generates a shopping list from that and this will automatically be delivered each week, you just go on during the week and knock off or add on what you need.

She probably uses Ocado.

I have a regular delivery slot set up with them. They bring me set items every week at the same time without me having to tell them. You can change the order at any time up until 6pm the night before, but if I do nothing at all then I know my staple goods will always be delivered. Costs nothing extra over the normal service and is absolutely brilliant.

They even text you the day before to remind you to amend the order if necessary and text you on the morning to let you know if there are any substitutions (very rare) and what they are, so that when you open the door you can say no thanks or yes please without being put on the spot. I love it, it's fantastic

Thanks so much for your replies. Cointreau have you got your slot pre-reserved somehow then to ensure its the same time every week? Or do you just always manage to go on the site and get that time?

Deaf, I think you are right, she did mention Ocado. I think they are a bit more expensive than others?

Sppp oh thanks that does sound good, I will have a look at that. Would you say they are a bit more expensive than the other supermarkets? How much do you have to pay for the automatic regular slot?

Honestly, it's fantastic.

I don't think it is more expensive than the others. They price match with Tesco, so if your order would have been less with Tesco they send you an online voucher for the difference to use next time.

Even if it is a bit more, I think it would be genuinely worth it, it is so rare to get a substitution, but when I used other supermarkets they always had items missing or such rubbish substitutions that you would end up have to do a quick top-up to get those things, which completely defeats the point of doing it online in the first place.

They set up the order 6 days in advance, so eg my regular order is Saturday 8am, and they set it up on a Sunday at 10am, so all the stuff gets put in your virtual basket, so you have first dibs on the stuff, whereas if someone goes on on Friday and orders stuff it might show as out of stock, that's because it's in YOUR basket, haha, hope that makes sense.

I have an annual pass, honestly can't remember how much it is, but it is worth EVERY penny. Then every delivery is free, one each day if you want it, as long as you spend £40. If ever short just add toilet roll/wine and you'll get to £40.

I second sppp on Ocado. It is fabulous service, you get a text a couple of hours beforehand to remind you about the delivery and tell you if there are any missing items which is so helpful (and give you the colour of the van, which DS finds particularly exciting). On the rare occasion the drivers run late, they call you in person to tell you. Once you've done a few shops you just go straight to Favourites and everything is listed ordered by how often you've ordered in the past so it's very quick to do a repeat order.

On the other hand I found Tesco pretty awful, lots of substitutions, and when they are late they never let you know so you end up spending ages on the phone to figure out if they are going to bother turning up. Only upside is collecting clubcard points...

Oh and not that expensive, plenty of special offers which are easy to find. And a few times recently I've had refund vouchers where they have done a price-match with Tescos.

IMO Ocado isn't more expensive than the others unless you buy lots of branded crisps / biscuits etc. They do price match Tesco and the fresh stuff seems to last longer so we have very little waste - although as I have a pass I get several small orders a week so I never run out of stuff.

If you take your hourly rate doubled - ie the time it would take for you to load a trolley, unpack at checkout, pay, put back in trolley, empty trolley, put in car, drive home, unload shopping then I reckon your 2 hours wasted has got to be worth the cost of delivery / any additional expense.

No additional charge for the regular slot - you just pay whatever the delivery charge is for that slot - midweek late night is sometimes free or £1, whereas if you go for a popular time such as the weekend then you can pay £6. I think I paid around £70 for a delivery pass which gives me unlimited deliveries with no delivery charge.

I've found that in my area at least, they won't deliver to business premises (just in case you wanted to)

I too embraced online shopping after I went back to work. I second everything said above.

I also find it easier to stick to a set amount with it as you have a running total. I tend to add in everything i want as 'going around' then when I see how much it costs at the end I can then delete items that are unnecessary. You don't tend to do that at the till in the shop as it is too late by the time you find out the total. It's much easier to do online.

Slattern thanks that is a good idea.
I'm wondering do people meal plan and then go online and do the shop? I'm rubbish at meal planning bur must try harder.

Dizzy I like the idea of doing the shop whenever suits rather than a fixed day but I guess that would mean more delivery charges if doing it say every 5 or 6 days.

Those who do have a set time each week, when do you have it delivered?

Sainsbury saves all my favourites automatically every time I shop. As others say it takes a good while to do your first shop but after that it is just 10 mins. Did it soon after DCs were born 10 years ago and has saved weeks of stress and pointlessness since then. DCs have hardly ever been inside a supermarket in their lives

I use ocado too. I do a different list completely every week, as I'm not the type to repeat food I cook. Even with that, it takes 15-30min to make my order. Ocado remembers my favourites, so after I've ordered a brand of yoghurt once, it'll be on the top of the list when I search for yoghurt next time.

I also really love the phone/tablet app. I keep adding things to it during the week when I remember we are low on things.

Agree that Ocado is fantastic.

There are very few substitutions, the drivers are usually lovely and they have a huge number of things on offer each week. Once you set it up, it only takes a short time to do an order. I wish I'd started doing it years ago. I also agree that's it is very easy to set a limit, budget wise and stick to it. Something I never seem to achieve if I go into a supermarket.

They will also bend over backwards to help you. For my Xmas delivery I'd ordered a huge pork joint. They phoned me on the day it was due, to say they had run out of pork joints so what would I like instead? I chose a joint of lamb which they had to get to me on a separate delivery as my main order was already on its way. They also let me have it for free as I'd been inconvenienced!

For your other questions, I have a fixed time booked every week. It's on friday 6pm, when we bath DD. I like to pre-book the day because then I can guarantee to get the slot. I have till midnight on thursday to edit my order.

And yes I meal plan. I use google docs to make a list of meals for both lunches and dinners. (I pack hot lunches for myself. DH is a everyday same sandwich man. I hate repeats on lunches too). I fill it in during the week when inspiration struck me when I read food blogs or magazines.

If you cook more from a set of favourites, have a look at pepperplate. You can meal plan on it, and automatically generate a shopping list.