For the Busy Career Woman, Who Just Doesn’t Have the Time or Energy For Grocery Shopping – There is a Saving Grace

Have you ever sat behind the steering wheel of your car and debated whether youn for my family. She quickly sent me links to several online grocery services and advised that I get myself, and my grocery purchasing, into the 21st century. My first Amazon order arrived days later, and I’m hooked.

Save Time
What is your time worth? The primary reason most busy women choose grocery delivery services is to save time. The average grocery store visit lasts 1-2 hours to net a week’s worth of groceries. Traffic, parking  checkout and longlines add little but aggravation to the experience, to say nothing of inclement weather or screaming toddlers in tow.  And while comparison shopping for the best prices saves you money, it also  saps time.

Instead, try an online option such as MySupermarket which maximizes your grocery buying power by comparison shopping for you. The service provides free delivery from various suppliers and utilizes your memberships at businesses like Costco and Amazon Prime,  saving you even more time and money.

Some of the biggest advantages to online ordering of groceries  for home delivery were things I hadn’t previously considered – for example:

Save Money
While some argue that delivery fees make online grocery ordering and delivery to your door a luxury —  not a savings — that is not always the case. Many retailers offer free delivery with a minimum order. For example, Walmart to Go offers free delivery on most orders of $50 or more.

Staying on budget while grocery shopping can be difficult, especially when children have a case of the “gimmies” or you are tired from a long day and readily reach for salty or sweet impulse buys. By contrast, online grocery delivery allows you to sort and search for specific items by category;  you run through your grocery list in no time and purchase only what you really require.

Convenience
Running out for diapers or toothpaste at bedtime is frustrating and can lead to more expensive purchasing, since, in a pinch, you usually have limited options. Amazon Subscribe & Save allows you to subscribe to the products you use most and select a delivery schedule that meets your needs. You also save as much as 5% more off the regular, already lower prices just for subscribing. Also, to avoid heavy lifting, hefty staples like canned goods and cat litter are great items  to order by subscription. Anyone who has ever lugged a 35 lb. jug of cat litter up three flights of stairs can attest to the wisdom of home delivery of items like that.

Portion Control and Calorie Counts
Schwan’s, is a retailer that is a bit different from a traditional online grocer.  It has decades of experience providing fresh and ready-to-heat meals to its customers. Advantages to Schwan’s offerings include calorie counts, number of portions per package, as well as the  ability to search by special diets (gluten-free, low-sodium and no-sugar-added). For busy executives, the ease of popping a healthy prepared meal into the oven after a long day provides a much better alternative to grabbing fast food on the way home — and Schwan’s delivers right to your door.

Specialty & Ethnic Items
No time for the farmer’s market? No worries. Ordering online  from sources like Door to Door Organics – available in localized markets -makes access to fresh, organic produce easy. Ethnic items for which you might otherwise risk a drive across town are also readily available online, and websites of regional grocers are especially helpful to locate brands that bring the taste of home to people who have moved across the country for business.

Mobile Apps and More
Imagine shopping for groceries during your morning commute! Online grocer, Peapod offers a mobile app, as does Amazon, which places your grocery order in one easy click.

Busy women are the queens of multitasking. Online grocery shopping makes it possible to simultaneously eat lunch at your desk, shop for groceries and put your feet up for a few minutes. Saving time and money as well?  That’s just another jewel in your crown.