<\/p>\n
Buying my groceries online has saved me $100s and many hours of my precious time!\n<\/p>\n
Sure, I shopped on Amazon, and with other online retailers, but I did my big grocery shop in-store.<\/p>\n
Between the cost of gas, getting enticed by those deals on the ends of aisles that resulted in me buying stuff that wasn\u2019t actually on my shopping list<\/a>, to missing out on offers, shopping in-store wasn\u2019t great for my budget.<\/p>\n It\u2019s not just my budget though that was affected by shopping in-store. More importantly, getting to the store, navigating the store, and hauling everything to my car took up a lot of time.<\/p>\n There had to be a better way.<\/p>\n And there was\u2026<\/p>\n Online grocery shopping!<\/strong><\/p>\n In today\u2019s post, I\u2019m going to tell you how ordering groceries online can save you money<\/a> and time, and what the best online grocery stores are.<\/p>\n I\u2019ll cover stores that are great for everything from fresh produce to baby supplies. And, I\u2019ll cover my top 3 cheapest places to buy groceries online for those who\u2019re looking to save money.<\/p>\n But is it cheaper to buy groceries online?<\/strong><\/p>\n Well, like most other products, it depends on what you are buying, when you are buying and where you are buying it from.<\/p>\n That said, while price-wise, not every single item may be cheaper than at the local supermarket, as you are about to discover, there are a few factors that indeed make the internet the cheapest place to buy groceries.<\/p>\n When I started doing my grocery shopping online, I noticed a few things from the outset that saved me time and money.<\/p>\n In-store I just tossed stuff in my cart and didn\u2019t know the cost of my groceries until I was at the checkout. I tend to do one main grocery shop per week. So, I break my monthly food budget<\/a> into four, since most months have about four weeks.<\/p>\n Now, I can look at my budget and see if my cart aligns with it. For example, if I see my purchase total is looking a little high, I can go into my cart and see if there\u2019s anything I could take out.<\/p>\n This has saved me a lot of money, simply because I have that number there. When I can see exactly what I\u2019m spending, it makes sticking to my budget a whole lot easier.<\/p>\n I feel like deals and coupons are easier to miss in-store. With so much going on with advertising and the busyness of a store it can be easy to miss out on deals. Heck, sometimes I even forget using my printed grocery coupons<\/a>.<\/p>\n I find that online, the deals are right in front of me. And if I type in \u201cpasta\u201d for example, I can see all of the different kinds of pasta that the store sells and which ones are on sale all in one place.<\/p>\n So, I can choose to buy pasta from a different brand than usual if that brand\u2019s pasta is currently on sale.<\/p>\n Each week, I plan out the meals I\u2019ll be having, because I find this is the best way for me to keep my grocery bill in check.<\/p>\n I don\u2019t have a rigid plan, like tacos on Tuesday, for example. But I try to come up with seven dinners that I can have throughout the week when I feel like them.<\/p>\n I found that when I was shopping in-store. I would pick up food for a couple of days, only to find myself back in the grocery store a few days later to stock up for the next few days.<\/p>\n Doing this resulted in more trips to the store, which meant more opportunities to buy stuff I didn\u2019t really need.<\/p>\n In-store, it\u2019s tough to get a whole week\u2019s shop. It\u2019s so time-consuming, and in the end, I just want to get out of there!<\/p>\n With online shopping, I can take my time, and add items for my whole week.<\/p>\n This makes sticking to my meal plan a whole lot easier. It\u2019s so effective for saving money on food.<\/p>\n Everyone is busy and I\u2019m no different. Any chance I have to save time and effort, I take it.<\/p>\n That\u2019s why buying groceries online is so awesome. I can just place my order, and everything else is taken care of.<\/p>\n You\u2019ll be surprised how much time you save by not having to go to the grocery store.<\/p>\n And here\u2019s the best part.<\/p>\n You can take this extra time and use it to make money!<\/p>\n Go over to Swagbucks<\/a> and get yourself some Amazon gift cards or money to your PayPal account for playing games, watching videos, browsing the internet and plenty of other fun and simple tasks.<\/p>\n Or pick up a side gig<\/a>, like writing about anything<\/a> for blogs or writing people\u2019s resumes<\/a>!<\/p>\n Or just take that extra time to relax.<\/p>\n As you can see, buying your groceries online is awesome for you and your budget, but the problem is, where do you shop?<\/p>\n There are so many sites out there where you can get your groceries. But which are the best?<\/p>\n Well below, I tell you!<\/p>\n Here are the best online grocery shopping stores.<\/p>\n Buying stuff online is great. But what about fresh foods? Are they really just as good as those you\u2019d pick up in-store?<\/p>\n With Peapod, they certainly are!<\/p>\n Peapod is an online grocery delivery service<\/a> that\u2019s owned by the same company that operates Stop & Shop, Food Lion, Giant-Landover and other supermarkets.<\/p>\n It is the largest online grocery delivery store in the United States.<\/p>\n Based in Chicago, Peapod operates in several U.S. cities.<\/p>\n Just shop online and Peapod will deliver your groceries right to your home.<\/p>\n The site has 1000s of weekly specials available in every category \u2013 just like a regular grocery store would.<\/p>\n There are coupons available and Peapod will double manufacturer coupons up to $0.99, which is awesome.<\/p>\n There are even delivery discounts including free delivery. In fact, all new customers get 60 days of free delivery.<\/p>\n With lots of features that make shopping online easier, like Order Genius, which will auto-fill your cart with the products you most often buy and remember your shopping history from Stop & Shop and Giant loyalty reward cards<\/a> to Express Shop, which allows you to quickly find and shop for all the items you need, the site makes shopping quick and convenient.<\/p>\n You can also filter your searches by your needs, like if you\u2019re looking for dairy-free cereal or peanut-free snacks, for example.<\/p>\n It\u2019s not just fresh produce that Peapod is great for. It also provides tons of other foods and of course things like pet supplies, beauty products, and household items.<\/p>\n You\u2019ll find plenty of products from national brads on Peapod. And it also carries a large range of its own brands that are of great quality and value.<\/p>\n You can get next day delivery everywhere and same-day delivery in some areas.<\/p>\n Delivery costs vary, depending on the size of the order, from $6.95 to $9.95. The site says that delivery can be as low as $2.95 with available discounts.<\/p>\n Pick-up is free on all orders. But pick-up isn\u2019t available in all areas.<\/p>\n Want convenience when buying your groceries?<\/p>\n Well, look no further than Instacart.<\/p>\n How the site works is simple.<\/p>\n The site connects you with Personal Shoppers in your area who will shop for and deliver groceries<\/a> from your favorite stores.<\/p>\n Think of it like UberEats, but for groceries!<\/p>\n Basically, shoppers do your shopping for you and deliver it right to your door \u2013 convenient, right?<\/p>\n There are 1,000s of products available on the site from the stores you already shop at.<\/p>\n You can get exclusive deals on popular products.<\/p>\n There are exclusive coupons available on hundreds of items.<\/p>\n You can get fresh produce on there, and lots of other items as well.<\/p>\n With groceries delivered in as little as 1 hour, there\u2019s no more convenient way to shop than with Instacart.<\/p>\n It makes deliveries in lots of cities, like:<\/p>\n Shop for groceries at your favorite store and then schedule a delivery. You can have your groceries delivered in as little as an hour. Or you can have them delivered later in the day or week.<\/p>\n If you prefer to pick up your groceries yourself, then you can.<\/p>\n Instacart offers a pick-up option. You choose a pick-up time and collect your groceries at the store. The pick-up option is only available at select locations.<\/p>\n The delivery fee varies depending on the size of your order and the delivery time you choose.<\/p>\n Instacart does have a membership service called Instacart Express<\/a>. It makes delivery free on all orders over $35. Another benefit you get is reduced service fees. You have a pay a monthly membership fee for Instacart Express.<\/p>\n To see if Instacart is available near you, visit this page<\/a>.<\/p>\n Now, Instacart is pretty convenient. So, do you pay extra for this convenience?<\/p>\n Sometimes.<\/p>\n According to Instacart, retailers set the prices of items available for delivery on the Instacart website.<\/p>\n Many retailers have the same in-store prices on Instacart, but others set different prices on Instacart than those you\u2019d get in-store. Handily, you can view the pricing policy for each store.<\/p>\n In certain cases, a flat percentage is added to cover the cost of the Instacart service.<\/p>\n So, a service fee may apply to each order you place. This fee covers a variety of operating costs, such as shopper operations, insurance, and background checks for shopping. This service fee isn\u2019t a tip, so it doesn\u2019t go to the shopper who delivers your order.<\/p>\n When there\u2019s a high demand for a delivery time, Instacart may apply a Busy Pricing delivery fee.<\/p>\n But, if you can schedule your delivery in advance, you\u2019re much more likely to pay standard delivery fees.<\/p>\n Next up, we have FreshDirect.<\/p>\n I\u2019d recommend this site if you\u2019re looking to buy organic or kosher food online.<\/p>\n You can find fresh, high-quality food on the site. And, FreshDirect offers all your supermarket brand favorites as well.<\/p>\n You can find groceries across multiple categories on the site, like Meals, Fruit, Vegetables, Meat & Poultry, Dairy, Frozen, Wines & Spirits.<\/p>\n FreshDirect delivers to the following areas:<\/p>\n Delivery ranges from $5.99 to $9.99 depending on where you\u2019re getting your groceries delivered to.<\/p>\n Overall, it\u2019s a great online supermarket!<\/p>\n Boxed is the place to shop if you have a large family. It\u2019s sort of like an online Costco.<\/p>\n It\u2019s an online and mobile wholesale retailer that delivers bulk-sized items right to your house. Unlike Costco though, you don\u2019t need a membership to shop through Boxed.<\/p>\n You can get tons of wholesale products on there, like groceries<\/a>, household products, and health supplies.<\/p>\n What I like about Boxed is that it offers products in such a wide range of categories, like:<\/p>\n Not only does the site allow you to get wholesale deals, but it also has plenty of other offers available, like save 15% on Game Day snacks.<\/p>\n The best part is though that Boxed gives out two free samples on every order.<\/p>\n Who doesn\u2019t want free stuff?<\/p>\n Boxed ships its orders with UPS.<\/p>\n It ships everywhere in the contiguous United States.<\/p>\n It doesn\u2019t currently ship to:<\/p>\n Shipping is free on your first order. Just meet the order minimum of $19.99 and you\u2019ll get free shipping.<\/p>\n After your first order, shipping will cost $6.99 for orders that are below $49. For orders over $49, you\u2019ll qualify for free shipping.<\/p>\n Boxed also has a membership program called Boxed Up<\/a>. It costs $49 a year. As a member, you get free shipping on all orders. You also get other benefits, like 2% cashback on groceries<\/a> and exclusive discounts. There\u2019s a free 30-day trial of the service.<\/p>\n Overall, Boxed is a great platform for online grocery shopping.<\/p>\n For a shopping experience that\u2019s just awesome all around, head on over the ShopFoodEx.<\/p>\n It\u2019s an online grocery store that deliveries groceries nationwide and to APO\/FPO addresses. It\u2019s been around since 2001, so it\u2019s long-established on the market.<\/p>\n There are more than 15,000 grocery items on ShopFoodEx, so you can find everything you need.<\/p>\n There really are so many products available across multiple categories, like:<\/p>\n There\u2019s a great selection to choose from on Boxed.<\/p>\n Even better, although it\u2019s a wholesale place, there are no minimums, so you don\u2019t have to buy multiple cases of anything if you don\u2019t want to.<\/p>\n Shipping rates on ShopFoodEx vary a lot.<\/p>\n The cost of shipping varies depending on the cost of your order and your shipping zone.<\/p>\n You could get shipping for just $9.99 or $12.99. But if you order $900 worth of stuff, shipping could be $60+ or as much as $294.99.<\/p>\n So, those shipping charges are pretty high. Most people won\u2019t be ordering $900 worth of stuff though. So. expect shipping to be $9.99 to $17.99.<\/p>\n Orders are usually shipped within 24 to 72 hours after they are placed. Orders that are shipped within the lower 48 United States take about two to seven business days to reach most locations.<\/p>\n For orders that ship to APO and FPO addresses, deliveries can take from one to four weeks to arrive.<\/p>\n Orders that are shipped to AK and HI can take up to one week to arrive.<\/p>\n When you spend $100, the site will take 33% off your shipping charges.<\/p>\n Okay, so above, I\u2019ve given you some awesome sites for buying groceries online.<\/p>\n They are great whether you\u2019re looking for convenience, in the case of Instacart, or great fresh produce, in the case of Peapod.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re looking for the cheapest place to buy groceries online, then take a look at some of the services below.<\/p>\n Amazon is one of the cheapest places to shop online. It offers awesome prices on everything, and groceries are no different.<\/p>\n Through Amazon Fresh, you can buy your groceries online for a low price.<\/p>\n With Amazon Fresh, you can purchase groceries like:<\/p>\n There are even household items available.<\/p>\n The best part is that delivery is free.<\/p>\n Amazon Fresh offers two types of delivery, including:<\/p>\n Attended Delivery and Doorstep Delivery are free on orders that are over the local free shipping threshold before tax. In eligible regions, people get free shipping on orders that are $35 or more before tax. All other regions get free shipping on orders of $50 or more before tax.<\/p>\n Handily enough, if your region is eligible for the $35 free shipping threshold, it will automatically be applied during checkout.<\/p>\n Aside from getting stuff delivered to your address, you can also choose the Amazon Fresh Pickup option.<\/p>\n This is available to Prime members in select cities. What\u2019s great about the Pickup option is that you get it at no additional cost and without an order minimum. This is a great option if you only plan to get a few things because you can save money on those delivery fees.<\/p>\n If you live in a participating city, you can choose a pickup location as your Amazon Fresh account address, and then reserve a time slot. Prime members who have the Amazon Fresh Add-on can get the added option of picking up orders in as little as 30 minutes!<\/p>\n How awesome is that?<\/p>\n Amazon doesn\u2019t provide its own list of cities it delivers to. Other places online have lists but I\u2019m reluctant to use those, as they could be out of date.<\/p>\n The best way to see if Amazon Fresh delivers near you is to sign in to your Amazon account.<\/p>\n Now, there is a caveat to Amazon Fresh.<\/p>\n It\u2019s only worthwhile if you\u2019re a Prime member.<\/p>\n Prime gives you free delivery on all of your Amazon orders, as long as they include Prime eligible items.<\/p>\n It also gives you access to movies, TV shows, and documentaries through Amazon Prime Video, which is Amazon\u2019s streaming service, access to books and music, and lots more benefits.<\/p>\n Now, to get access to Amazon Fresh, you used to have to pay a $14.99 fee. Now, though, Prime members get access to Amazon Fresh for free, as part of their membership, and they also get their groceries delivered for free too!<\/p>\n Next, we have Amazon Pantry.<\/p>\n This is another really awesome service that\u2019s available to Prime members.<\/p>\n You can shop for groceries and household essentials from Amazon Pantry and save up to 15%!<\/p>\n With Amazon Pantry, you basically fill up a box with items. The more Pantry items you buy, the more you save.<\/p>\n If you buy five Pantry items, for example, you save 5%.<\/p>\n You save 10% when you buy any 10 items.<\/p>\n And when you buy 15 items, you save 15%.<\/p>\n Prime Pantry is great because it allows Amazon to offer customers thousands of items that usually aren\u2019t cost-effective to ship individually, like a $3 body wash that costs $5 to ship.<\/p>\n There are also weekly deals and coupons available from Prime Pantry on many popular items.<\/p>\nHow Online Grocery Shopping Saved Me Time & Money<\/span><\/h2>\n
I had a running total for my cart<\/span><\/h4>\n
I didn\u2019t miss out on coupons and deals<\/span><\/h4>\n
It made meal planning easier<\/span><\/h4>\n
It\u2019s saved me time and effort<\/span><\/h4>\n
The Best Sites for Online Grocery Shopping<\/span><\/h2>\n
1. Peapod<\/a>: Best for fresh foods<\/span><\/h3>\n
Why shop with Peapod?<\/span><\/h4>\n
What\u2019s delivery like?<\/span><\/h4>\n
2. Instacart<\/a>: Best if you\u2019re looking for convenience<\/span><\/h3>\n
Why shop with Instacart?<\/span><\/h4>\n
What\u2019s delivery like?<\/span><\/h4>\n
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Remember that convenience doesn\u2019t come cheap!<\/span><\/h4>\n
3. FreshDirect<\/a>: Best for organic and kosher food<\/span><\/h3>\n
Why shop with FreshDirect?<\/span><\/h4>\n
What\u2019s delivery like?<\/span><\/h4>\n
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4. Boxed<\/a>: Best for large families or anyone looking to buy in bulk<\/span><\/h3>\n
Why shop with Boxed?<\/span><\/h4>\n
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What\u2019s delivery like?<\/span><\/h4>\n
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5. ShopFoodEx<\/a>: Great overall!<\/span><\/h3>\n
Why shop with ShopFoodEx?<\/span><\/h4>\n
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What\u2019s delivery like?<\/span><\/h4>\n
What\u2019s the Cheapest Place to Buy Groceries Online?<\/span><\/h2>\n
6. Amazon Fresh<\/a> (If you\u2019re a Prime member)<\/span><\/h3>\n
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What\u2019s delivery like?<\/span><\/h4>\n
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Keep in mind you do need to be a Prime member<\/span><\/h4>\n
7. Amazon Pantry<\/a><\/span><\/h3>\n