I can completely understand some reasons for buying groceries online, such as your broken ankle. Like you, I prefer seeing what I'm buying first. I also kind of enjoy grocery shopping...most of the time.

I enjoy grocery shopping. And I do agree that i would rather see certain things before buying them. But for someone like me,there may be an advantage to online grocery shopping. That is, it would stop me from so much impulse buying. I absolutely am the type to go into a store with 5 things on my list,and come out 2 hours later with a whole carload of stuff. This time of year especially when every store with a garden center has so many tempting beautiful plants......

But I have never tried it. One of my sisters uses the Walmart pickup service and loves it. She does NOT, however, enjoy grocery shopping like I do.

Grocery shopping is the only kind of shopping I like so I would never consider it.

Because I no longer drive and have very sporadic, dependable public transportation I've become an Instacart devotee. Their shoppers aren't perfect but mine isn't far from it. I think one needs to know the markets they're shopping at as well as the human being who's doing the shopping for them. Be specific. Give accurate input/descriptions/directions and learn the nature of your shopper as well as the service internet site. Having tried the alternatives...Instacart is a Godsend to me. I use them regularly and at least twice a month.

On the opposite end of the spectrum...I found the local Peapod service to be disastrous....delivering spoiled produce and broken containers. They were very quickly relegated to the dumpster...never to be used again.

On line shopping services certainly aren't my shopping ideal but I'd be in a real pickle if I didn't have the availability of Instacart. I'm, also, convinced that the success or failure of services like Instacart depend almost entirely on the intelligence and person-ability of the shoppers. I've been very lucky. My gal is local. Mature. Informed and Intelligent. And altogether...a delight to not only do business with but to have in my home. I hope our business relationship will be long lasting. My culinary successes depend on her. :-)

Edited to add: I, too, loved to shop. And I still miss it. But one must learn to adapt to their options and "adapting"...I am. Fortunately...pleasurably right now.

My three daughters live in very big cities. They have everything delivered from various sources...amazon, peapod, the local big grocery. They rarely complain about the quality of anything, from fresh and frozen fish and meat to fresh produce. I've seen and eaten plenty of their food (well, not with the girl in Cali) and It is always good.

it is next to impossible not to have these deliveries in the city using public transportation while wrangling the baby and a job. Here in suburbia I still prefer to do my own shopping, but hub and I are getting old enough to start considering deliveries. I don't like to shop, but I do love to cook.

Couldn’t do it unless I had to. I catch myself checking out each package of ground meat before making my choice. I’ll change dinner plans if I don’t like the way the pork chops look. Gosh even center aisle shopping I’m checking expiration dates, etc. Oh and I’m particular about shopping the inside aisles before the perishables, and keeping cold stuff together. Will they be?

I think it’s great that the services are available for those who need it. And if I used it I’d probably learn quickly how silly my quirkiness is.

I don't think your "quirkiness" is silly at all, food. I shopped just as you do when I could and I know with a surety that I'd be most unhappy if I didn't have the particular personal shopper that I have right now. She's a gem and I dread the thought that I'll lose her at some point in the future.

Instacart encourages customer feedback and no order is ever filled without their asking if I was pleased with the shopper. So far...I feel relatively confident that if I had a serious objection to the shopper that Instacart would do everything in their power to rectify the situation. I just hope I never have to go that route.

I haven't yet, but I probably will. Not day to day or produce, but I wanted to make pies last Christmas. Now, I do not use the pie filling that is already sweetened and thickened. I like canned pie apples (Lucky Leaf) and pie cherries (Oregon). NO ONE HAD THEM! I did find online from Walmart, but it was too late to order. So, next time, I will order that online.

Interesting article. In addition to all the reasons mentioned why this is a money loser for the grocery stores themselves is that people tend to buy less using this method. No impulse items I guess.

I like to grocery shop and I like picking my own produce, meat, etc. Plus I'm cost conscious so I'm not interested in paying extra for someone to deliver, not to mention picking up "manager's specials" which they do here in the bread, meat, fish and non-perishables departments, depending on the store.

I'm also lucky to be easily able to go to a few different grocery store chains within a short distance so that I can take advantage of what each uniquely has to offer.

I think it's great that this service is now available for those who need or want it but I'm not all that surprised that not everyone immediately jumped on that bandwagon.

Well, since I can’t drive either, it’s a toss up between giving my husband a list to pick up, or placing my order online. Although he’s not too bad, I have to really be specific about what I want or it’s a toss up as to what we end up with. He prefers to pick it up himself and I’d rather do the online order. You can allow substitutions or not. I don’t usually need a lot of meat or seafood, as we can get that at Costco when we can go together.

When DD had their first baby, they were living in San Francisco with one car which her husband took to work. She found that grocery order deliveries were a real godsend. Quite often a little something extra was included as a gift. I live in the suburbs and find that I prefer to look over the produce myself.

The article seemed to be very focused on Peapod and their business model, rather than the consumer side.

I loved Instacart when they would send a "shopper" to your local store. I could give the location of an exact item. Also specific directions for the butcher, etc. Now, it seems they have someone in the store "picking" and hold the food in the walk-in--counterintuitively, they seem to know the products less, or just don't have as big a stake in getting it right. Much harder getting hot or frozen. The driver seems to be just a schlepper. I can see how this would work better for them as they expand, rather than using a model more like Postmates or Uber. I'm not as happy with the outcome, however. Overall, however, it's still not bad, and worth the fee and tip. Luckily, I rarely have the need for delivery recently.

While I'm also picky and inspect carefully, since I do most of my own shopping (I hear Sherry's "barcodes" thing, and raise it a description to the colorblind) I do know what the picker is looking at, and what the butcher has. I don't sent them for tricky produce, but the produce selections are fine, especially if I describe what I want.

Still and all, I couldn't substitute a grand shopping with them. More, they're ready to bring you a few bags of groceries between times, when you can't get out.

When the kids were around and I was working, my shopping experience once a week was very organized! My list was so complete that I rarely had to go to the store again between Sunday shopping trips!

Now, 5 years into retirement with 2 grocery stores within walking distance, I rarely plan more than a couple of days in advance (I do buy and freeze meats on sale or in bulk)

I grow a lot of my own veges, but would be picky about out of season fruits/veges being chosen by someone else.

I, however, think I would be a great personal shopper! Choosing the best/freshest produce and cuts of meat!

Hmmmmmmmmmmm! Maybe something to think about! I don't really need $, but it would give me something to do each day! I've recently moved to a very wealthy area (my house was the ONLY affordable house on the block!) and there are many elderly folks who might like this service!)

Nancyjane, I think that sounds like a great idea. A personal grocery shopper, rather than an app, right? I'm not your in your target demo, but I'd love to have a personal grocery shopper when needed, rather than having to rely on the new, less personal version of Instacard.

Something that the article didn't mention (or I missed) is that the margin on groceries is tiny. Retail at a boutique is 100% markup (more at chains or large stores which also get volume discounts). The markup at a grocery store averages about 12%. They have to pay building, upkeep, wages, etc., out of that. There is no way to make grocery delivery profitable out of the margin the way it is for clothes or books. Therefore, for the people availing themselves of the service must be willing to pay for the service itself. One of the problems delivery services such as Postmates have when they get out of a crowded core where driving and parking is enough of a pain and expense that the amount spent on delivery fees and generous tips is more than worth it. In places with free, convenient parking and flowing traffic, people are less generous with the tips, upending the original business model and making the companies have to upend their business models and scramble to find ways to expand and upscale.

There are 2 grocery stores in my town that provide pick-up. I love them both! I totally hate to grocery shop, so that may influence how I perceive the service.

Nancyjane, you should do it. There will be people in your neighborhood who are mobility challenged, don't drive, or have difficulty leaving the house for other reasons. There is often a big gap in available services between "a neighbor or friend helping out" and "home health care services". And most home assistance services are very expensive with the person who actually provides the service receiving only a part of the customer's payment.

I can see offering a couple different services.

1. "Let's go shopping". You take the client to the grocery store, help her shop, bring her groceries home.

2. "I'll do your shopping". You go to grocery store, shop, deliver groceries to client.

Probably best would be for client to start with #1 and then move to #2, so you better know what they want. You'd want to have a "grocery list" form with standard items to check and places to write special items and comments. Printed, not online.

How will you be paid? By item, by hour? I'd think the latter might be better.

Do you know how you'll find clients? Word of mouth, neighborhood newsletter, flyer?

There may be ancillary service opportunities - other things that need doing like cleaning or gardening or laundry or cooking. You may or may not be interested in doing them. However, your clients will probably eventually ask you "if you know anyone" so it would be helpful to know some reliable local people.

I live in a neighborhood with a fair number of older people. They usually try to stay in their houses, among their friends and neighbors, as long as they can. For many, going to assisted living / retirement home is a last resort. A helpful service like yours could help people age at home. Assisted living is so expensive, that you could save them money too. The $X per hour or whatever you'll charge is a pittance compared to what it will cost for them to leave their homes.

I think it's a good idea, too, but the only problem with #1 is that you'll need a heck of a lot of insurance.

Good point, writersblock. Transporting and escorting people as part of a business is likely to be more expensive to insure than simply picking up and delivering groceries as part of a business.

Nancyjane, I will be interested if you look into doing this and what you find out.

I am active in our neighborhood association (NA) and have been thinking about trying to start an elder support initiative. It seems to me that our elderly neighbors can need help with transportation, shopping, lawn care, home repairs, companionship, etc. I have been thinking about what our NA can do.

For example, we have plenty of contractors who live here. While they wouldn't want to themselves be fixing house problems (leaking toilets, dead light fixtures, clogged drains, etc), we might be able to develop a list of local handymen (handypersons) to refer people to, and then our contractor neighbors can check and make sure the elderly neighbor isn't being taken advantage of.

As another example, there are social services that provide transportation. While the NA wouldn't want to itself be driving people around, we might be able to talk to those services and get them connected with our neighbors who need them.

I've been busy with the neighborhood's historic district effort. Hopefully that will be completed this year and then I can work on the elder support initiative.

So I need to dig into the insurance issue too. Our NA has been getting active in facilitating community gardens, organizing home tours, restoring historic structures, etc. Increasingly we are starting to need insurance coverage. Up to now we've been buying "event insurance" for the day of each event, but as we move into continuing activities, that approach isn't working so well.

FWIW, and I live in a state where insurance of all sorts is expensive, for years I just had regular coverage on my car although I used it primarily for work (musician). To switch to commercial coverage was only about 10% more when I did it. That's for just the car, the way you'd use it to pick up and deliver groceries. I was just hauling equipment.

If you're going to be transporting people it becomes much, much more complicated. You'd also need an additional liability policy--what happens if you take someone to the grocery store and they slip and fall while there? It would wind up being subrogated to the store most likely, but you'd have to be prepared for a suit.

FWIW, housekeepers are generally much easier to find and pay than help who will buy the groceries, let alone well. There are also lots of errands services. If I were to employ someone like Nancyjane it would be specifically for her expertise and pickiness in grocery shopping. This is not a scaleable business specifically because that expertise is non-transferrable nor replicable. If it were, the article which this thread started with would be very different.

"For example, we have plenty of contractors who live here. While they
wouldn't want to themselves be fixing house problems (leaking toilets,
dead light fixtures, clogged drains, etc), we might be able to develop a
list of local handymen (handypersons) to refer people to, and then our
contractor neighbors can check and make sure the elderly neighbor isn't
being taken advantage of."

This service alone would be worth a million bucks to seniors like me, John. I've lived in my area for 30+ years but can't tell you the number of times I've been the target of disreputable repair people. I'm a widow and I'm convinced that I have a sign tattooed across my forehead that invites scammers.

I had a serious plumbing repair need just after my husband died 12 years ago. The plumber's assistant walked out of my home with a 14K medic alert bracelet that would have cost me $2800 to replace. I'd just cancelled all my jewelry coverage in an attempt to economize. Suffice to say...the bracelet was not replaced. But the lesson was learned...the hard way. I paid dearly for plumbing repair work that left a lot to be desired.

So many of my old standby service people have retired and their younger replacements aren't always as competent and reliable.Even service people assigned through my condo association aren't always as scrupulous as they should be. Fortunately...I'm pretty handy and don't shy away from a myriad of DIY projects but my eyesight is failing and the day is coming when I'll no longer be able to do many projects. I'd be overjoyed to have a referral list of competent work people and the assurance that a service like you suggest would be keeping a protective eye on me.

Thanks for the thoughts, Winter. I'm pretty interested in this idea. Will talk to some neighbors about it.

I did In Home Support Sevices for and old friend til she died at 96. I both took her shopping, then did the shopping for her. I never even thought about insurance! BUT, I was probably covered by the county I worked for at the time.

I'm thinking, being an organic gardener and a pretty decent cook, I might be able to pull this off on a small scale! I have many stores in the area, from Safeway to a couple of local organic markets, farmers markets pretty much 7 days a week.

Our county has also , in the last few years OK'd kitchen cooking without all the permits, so I could offer some of my yummy soups!

Ooh Ohh getting excited!

I did sign up for a year of our local "Shipt", the delivery service from our local Meijer. They hired shoppers to purchase groceries and then delivered them to your house. Each item cost a couple of cents more than they would if you went to the store yourself, and it was/is customary to tip the delivery/shopper. The shopper was given your phone number so if there were questions or the store was out of something, they could call for instructions. It was pretty popular but I never did use it, I just did the shopping when I went into town weekly to do the books at Dave's shop. When I signed up I thought "well, if I get sick, or the roads are horrible or I just don't feel like it, it would be great". $49 a year was a deal, I thought, but it ended up being $49 into the black hole because I never used it. Others said they LOVED it, the shopper brought their groceries right in and set them on the counter for them.

nancyjane, I agree that would be a valuable and probably popular service, if you can work out the details.

When my stepmother could no longer live on the farm, she moved into a senior apartment complex with emergency buzzers and maintenance workers. However, she couldn't drive any longer. She could take the "senior bus", provided by the local Senior Center, for things like doctor's appointments in town but it was too difficult to take that bus to the grocery store, try to shop, pay for, haul the bags out to the bus, haul them all into the apartment. Having someone to shop with or for her would have been a very welcome service, and homemade soup would have been a double bonus.

John, I hope you can also sort that service out. Here many of the elderly get taken advantage of because they don't know anyone who does repairs or they get convinced by friendly and slick salemen who will do subpar work or take money and never do any work at all. Most are itinerant types who take the money and run, for everything from roof repair to cords of wood for heating. Even if they aren't getting ripped off, sometimes older people just get confused about what they need and how to get it accomplished. Having someone to help find reliable and reasonable repair people for various jobs would be a godsend to some elderly who are without families or caretakers to help them.

While I was still caring for my stepmother, I spent countless hours finding services. They are available, but if you don't know about them, they can be difficult to find. I eventually found Meals on Wheels, and Dial-A-Ride, the Senior Center who had volunteer drivers for medical appointments (although that was only for local appointments, anything out of town was still my responsibility), a nurse who came to her apartment to take blood for her lab work due to her coumadin, housekeeping assistance. Just having all that information available in one place would have been amazing, instead of having to run it all down myself.

As the population ages, this type of personal service could become more and more valuable, as many older people could live on their own with just a little help. I hope both John and Nancyjane can figure out the logistics and help some of the older people in their neighborhoods who could really benefit from just a little help.

Annie

I'm awaiting a delivery from Safeway as I type this. I'm plagued with intermittent episodes of vertigo, and when I'm experiencing one of those, I can't drive or walk the aisles of a grocery store. I've been using the service from Safeway for about 2-3 years, and am pretty happy with it.

Yes, there a problems from time to time. But, for the most part, I've been very pleased. Over the years, I've learned which items are best to leave until I can do the actual shopping myself.

I choose the "green" option, a four hour window for delivery, and get it half price. They also send me promotional codes to give me a free delivery if I spend $75, $100, etc. It's really been a life-saver for me since my husband's health has deteriorated and he cannot drive.

Another local supermarket chain offers an "e-Cart" experience. Order online and pick up the groceries at the store's parking lot. No need to shop the aisles or go into the store at all. I've used that service too. But when I'm feeling particularly poorly, Safeway it is.

Sue

A few weeks ago I watched or rather observed a Walmart worker who I know shop for a online order. She had two carts, one for fresh meat, poultry, fish and the other for everything else. She told me they are trained to never allow cross contamination. She was sorting thru produce when I saw her looking for the freshest. I was impressed and told her so...she said she shops for others the way she would want to be shopped for but I do wonder if everyone is so careful and conciderate when choosing others food orders.

FWIW, my dad has a private aide mostly to help him with shopping and cooking and keeping his kitchen clean. My dad is so picky and argumentative it's a tough gig, but his helper is a saint. He gives inane instructions because he doesn't know squat about cooking but has to be an expert about everything, and then complains if you do it as he instructed and then it's not good. Such is the way with some elders!

I also help him by bringing food over but it gives me a lot of peace of mind knowing his helper makes sure he eats it by heating it up, etc. My dad is so depressed he has a hard time even microwaving something already on a serving plate or taking a serving out of the fridge to eat. His aide makes sure he sits down to a meal. Plus I know my dad likes to be waited on and boss someone around. God bless this woman!!

I order all my groceries from Kroger online and then pick them up in the parking lot. I do this as they have a health clinic in the store, and all the sick people come in and do a bit of shopping after seeing the health care provider, nicely spreading their germs all over the entire store.

I don't worry what they are going to give me as I know what the quality of their produce and meat is. I actually buy very little of that as I buy my meat and produce at a small local store that is very convenient for me. But for stables and frozen, it's Kroger Click List all the way. I typically shop on Wed when my yard man is here so he can carry it all inside and up the stairs to my kitchen. Works for me!

For other services, have any of you joined Nextdoor? It's a neighborhood forum where you ask for or recommend services, announce events, report suspicious activities, post lost/found pets etc..

I had moved into a new home and the windows hadn't been done in forever! I went into the recommendation section, and found this woman had been given at least 100 favorable posts, hired her and she was fabulous!

I'm so glad this works well for you, nancyjane_gardener, but you should be aware that in a lot of places nextdoor has a regrettable tendency to become a platform for expressing fear and dread that "the others" will find a way into a nice neighborhood, so there are areas where many people avoid it. You're lucky to be an area where it does what it's meant to do.

ETA I myself know several people who have had their opinions of their development entirely changed by the ugliness they discovered on nextdoor, unfortunately.

Thanks for that tip AG! I drive right by a Krogers on my way home from work and I really should take advantage of being able to just pick up my already-selected groceries on my way home. I don't usually buy meat there anyway, and their produce is almost always pretty good.

I started doing on-line shopping and very slowly over the years, it's gradually increased to about 75-80% of my shopping. The expansion of my fav market into a "super store" pushed me into using the on-line more.

I simply loathe the new expanded layout - since I "shop the margins", e.g., the outside aisles, I found my trips were taking longer. Not the added steps (that's just more exercise, LOL) but the additional shelf space means more brands/items crammed in.

So when I want something small and simple - toothpicks, for example - the visual clutter makes it hard to find. Even when I know which aisle it's in, items can be difficult to focus in on. And of course, the store likes to push its in-house brands, most of which I don't care for. I do use a few, but not many.

I find the quality of the "shoppers" average at best; mediocre at worst. According to the ones I've talked to, they are given a flat 15 min to fill an order, no matter the size!

I now stick to basics that I know the warehouse almost always has in stock. Certain produce and butcher items are 'safe' to order, as I can mark the choices "no substitutes" so they'll simply leave them off.

Specialty items I can pick up when we're out running errands. But for the basics, like toilet paper, juice drinks, basic salad fixings, everyday cheeses like cheddar and mozzarella, leg of lamb or filet mignon, carton of milk - on-line works pretty well for us.

When I lived in NJ for a year or so there was a startup company called Streamline. You gave them garage access and they put a refrigerator in it. Then you would go on line and order food and it would miraculously appear in the refrigerator the next day. The meat was better than any supermarket meat. Their packaged goods were reasonably priced. I didn't order fruits and veggies because those were better from the market. They would drop off stamps and pick up your dry cleaning also. Best Company Ever. It went out of business after a year I think because the quality was too high for what we were paying.

When I lived in NJ for a year or so there was a startup company called Streamline. You gave them garage access and they put a refrigerator in it. Then you would go on line and order food and it would miraculously appear in the refrigerator the next day. The meat was better than any supermarket meat. Their packaged goods were reasonably priced. I didn't order fruits and veggies because those were better from the market. They would drop off stamps and pick up your dry cleaning also. Best Company Ever. It went out of business after a year I think because the quality was too high for what we were paying.

I was working in Manhattan at the time and so I had no time to shop so I considered this service a great luxury. I found this old article about the company!

Streamline

nancyjane_gardener I am a member of Nextdoor. Mostly what I see on there is lost & found pets, but yes, there is the occasional, "person who looks like they don't belong is roaming the neighborhood" posts. Ugh. I just ignore all of that.

There is still a lot of value in chatting with neighbors for recommendations and general neighborhood news such as what they're going to build on that empty lot or what store is closing. The best thing for me was that shortly after I joined, I saw a post for a neighborhood wine lovers group. I started going and made some really good friends there. We meet monthly for dinner and wine. It has been a wonderful thing for me!

Facebook is another place for that kind of thing. There are neighborhood groups and I belong to the one for my area. It's another good resource for recommendations from your neighbors.