Online grocery shopping and delivery used to be seen as a luxury when it was first introduced, but there are some families out there who depend on it to get everything done in a day.
Marisa Langford is a Tampa mother of four who says she could definitely go to the grocery store, but why do that when you can get some help from the online delivery services and get some other things accomplished at the same time?
“It’s busy from sun up to sun down, but I do a lot of things to try to prepare so that I am ready for the day too,” said Landford.
It’s not only about convenience though; she says she even saves money when she shops online for groceries.
“I actually find that I save money on groceries by shopping online because I’m sticking to my list. I don’t have that impulse buying,” said Langford.
Since the list of online grocery shopping keeps growing, we tried out the four being offered in the Tampa Bay area. We checked them all out for convenience and price.
Shipt, Amazon Prime, Walmart and Instacart all offer service in our area. So we ordered four, comparable items from each. Toilet paper, milk, laundry detergent and ice cream were all on our list.
From the items we purchased, Walmart was the cheapest at $34.39 with free shipping if you don’t mind waiting two business days and you order $35 or more. It will cost $5 to $7 extra.
Amazon Pantry was the most expensive at $41.26 and you have to add a $5.99 flat rate onto the delivery price. Also with Amazon Pantry, you have to be an Amazon Prime member, which will cost you $99 annually.
Instacart and Shipt fell in the middle at $36.38 and $38.16 respectively. Instacart charges no delivery fee, but their annual fee is $149. Shipt offers free delivery on orders of $35 or more and the annual fee is $99.
Instacart and Shipt are changing the game though, offering deliveries from different stores, specifically COSTCO and you don’t even need a membership to order your items from there.
Langford’s pro tip for anyone still on the fence about online, grocery shopping:
“Just try it out… they all have trial periods so you don’t have anything to lose,” says Langford.
We also found out that Instacart and Shipt are both hiring for drivers as well as shoppers. For more information, visit their respective websites.
