As I checked the notifications on my phone, I noticed yet another email from Instacart telling me a friend had given me a coupon for shopping. I had yet to try it, but from what I've been hearing this past month, multiple friends have tried it and been extremely satisfied. I sat on the couch, browsing the emails. Maybe it was worth a try. I needed to do some grocery shopping today and wasn't really in the mood to go out. It would be ideal.
I opened the link from my email, which took me to the app, and created an account. No bank account information needed to create the account, that was good. I always got suspicious when they needed bank info before even ordering anything. The app took me to their home page where I was able to enter my zip code and find stores nearby. I'd never even heard of Instacart until Aldi started advertising they were on it, so I chose Aldi and continued to the next page.
Not really planning on ordering groceries from them today, I started browsing available products. It looks like they had pretty much everything you could find in stores, and for the same price. Another positive. I started adding things to the cart for salads. Partly just to see what the final cost would be and partly to see if I could find everything I'd normally get. Once I'd added all the salad ingredients, I browsed through the different sections for more options.
I will say, if I did use Instacart for grocery shopping, it would cut down on costs, that was for sure. Grocery shopping in the store, I always ended up buying more than I needed simply because I passed by it in the store. Every time. Never fails. Unless I wanted to sit and browse the app for hours, I pretty much got what I needed and checked out. Check that off as another positive. After browsing for another few minutes, I went to check out. Again, I still hadn't officially decided to buy anything, but I was curious how it would work. How much extra did they charge for delivery? Did I need to include a tip? What kind of groceries would they deliver? Would it be good quality?
Full of questions, I continued. The next step was to add my delivery location. Once I'd done that, they told me delivery was estimated to be two hours. That wasn't bad. I could get my grocery shopping done in the store in less than two hours, but for not having to go out, it wasn't a time limit worth complaining about. I was feeling a little more convinced to try it out today. Why not? I wouldn't have to take a shower or get dressed yet. I could paint my nails while I waited for delivery. It seemed more and more like a good idea.
I went to the final check out. It was six dollars for delivery and gave me the option to add a tip. I paused again before submitting the order. Yes, it was a few extra dollars, but not much. It might actually be worth it. I took a breath and pushed submit. It was done. I couldn't take it back. For a half a second, I regretted it. I don't know why I was so hesitant to try it, but it seemed too good to be true. But then I reasoned with myself. If I didn't like it, lesson learned. I just wouldn't use it next time.
Within minutes of submitting my order, I received a notification that someone was beginning to shop for me. Cool. I went to my order page and saw I could still edit items, send them to another store, and even contact the shopper. Very cool. I watched for several more minutes as items continued to be added to the cart. There were the bananas. And the grapes. And then cucumbers and carrots. There was the juice. And now celery. I was enraptured for the next 15 minutes watching the order be filled. As I stared, I got another notification. The order had been filled and was ready for delivery.
Holy cow! I checked the time, they had said two hours and it had only been 30 minutes. I jumped up remembering I had wanted to paint my nails while all of this was being done, not just sit and watch. I ran to get all my nail polish from the bathroom while I heard another ping on my phone. As I made my way back to the living room, hands full of nail polish, remover, and lotion, I glanced down at my phone. Delivery in 10 minutes.
Oops. I guess my nails would have to wait until after the delivery. I smiled and sat down with Charlie, "I guess I can't be mad they're delivering early, right?" I was both excited and nervous to get the delivery, but I still had ten minutes to wait. I started petting Charlie and counting down the minutes...
I opened the link from my email, which took me to the app, and created an account. No bank account information needed to create the account, that was good. I always got suspicious when they needed bank info before even ordering anything. The app took me to their home page where I was able to enter my zip code and find stores nearby. I'd never even heard of Instacart until Aldi started advertising they were on it, so I chose Aldi and continued to the next page.
Not really planning on ordering groceries from them today, I started browsing available products. It looks like they had pretty much everything you could find in stores, and for the same price. Another positive. I started adding things to the cart for salads. Partly just to see what the final cost would be and partly to see if I could find everything I'd normally get. Once I'd added all the salad ingredients, I browsed through the different sections for more options.
I will say, if I did use Instacart for grocery shopping, it would cut down on costs, that was for sure. Grocery shopping in the store, I always ended up buying more than I needed simply because I passed by it in the store. Every time. Never fails. Unless I wanted to sit and browse the app for hours, I pretty much got what I needed and checked out. Check that off as another positive. After browsing for another few minutes, I went to check out. Again, I still hadn't officially decided to buy anything, but I was curious how it would work. How much extra did they charge for delivery? Did I need to include a tip? What kind of groceries would they deliver? Would it be good quality?
Full of questions, I continued. The next step was to add my delivery location. Once I'd done that, they told me delivery was estimated to be two hours. That wasn't bad. I could get my grocery shopping done in the store in less than two hours, but for not having to go out, it wasn't a time limit worth complaining about. I was feeling a little more convinced to try it out today. Why not? I wouldn't have to take a shower or get dressed yet. I could paint my nails while I waited for delivery. It seemed more and more like a good idea.
I went to the final check out. It was six dollars for delivery and gave me the option to add a tip. I paused again before submitting the order. Yes, it was a few extra dollars, but not much. It might actually be worth it. I took a breath and pushed submit. It was done. I couldn't take it back. For a half a second, I regretted it. I don't know why I was so hesitant to try it, but it seemed too good to be true. But then I reasoned with myself. If I didn't like it, lesson learned. I just wouldn't use it next time.
Within minutes of submitting my order, I received a notification that someone was beginning to shop for me. Cool. I went to my order page and saw I could still edit items, send them to another store, and even contact the shopper. Very cool. I watched for several more minutes as items continued to be added to the cart. There were the bananas. And the grapes. And then cucumbers and carrots. There was the juice. And now celery. I was enraptured for the next 15 minutes watching the order be filled. As I stared, I got another notification. The order had been filled and was ready for delivery.
Holy cow! I checked the time, they had said two hours and it had only been 30 minutes. I jumped up remembering I had wanted to paint my nails while all of this was being done, not just sit and watch. I ran to get all my nail polish from the bathroom while I heard another ping on my phone. As I made my way back to the living room, hands full of nail polish, remover, and lotion, I glanced down at my phone. Delivery in 10 minutes.
Oops. I guess my nails would have to wait until after the delivery. I smiled and sat down with Charlie, "I guess I can't be mad they're delivering early, right?" I was both excited and nervous to get the delivery, but I still had ten minutes to wait. I started petting Charlie and counting down the minutes...
Very interesting account of the proceedings! I've never tried a grocery delivery service, and have been wondering if it's worth it. You'll have to let us know if you're a satisfied customer or not. :-) ~JudyK
ReplyDeleteI never heard of that service. I do Clicklist, where I fill my cart on line, they fill it in the store, then I pick it up. It has a $5 fee, but I agree with you, I save at least that much by not being able to impulse shop.
ReplyDeleteI like the blog!
ReplyDeleteYour slice unfolds bit by bit. I enjoyed following your thinking as you contemplated the possibilities around groceries.
ReplyDelete