Grocery Shopping

[MichaelB]

The thread topic is grocery shopping. Plenty of other threads to post general comments about COVID.

 

[travelover]

Got our Costco order yesterday from Instacart. Most things were in stock that we'd asked for (metro Portland). It did not seem like that many groceries for $370, so I checked to see what Instacart's markup is. As near as I can tell, it is about 25% - more than I thought. Maybe next time we'll shop online from a store that offers pickup, as it seems like the risk would still be minimal

 

[stepford]

The markup for delivery is indeed pretty high. Enough so that it would dissuade me from the service on a long term basis. For the next few weeks/months though, I consider it a tolerable "cost of doing business" to manage risk.

 

[fh2000]

The markup for delivery is indeed pretty high. Enough so that it would would dissuade me from the service on a long term basis. For the next few weeks/months though, I consider it a tolerable "cost of doing business" to manage risk.

Also, Instacart adds 5% tip on the bill, plus I give few more on top of that also.

I chatted briefly with one shopper/driver. He is doing it part time with another job. It sounds similar to how Uber drivers do by choosing time when they are available. That is probably why one day I kept checking delivery availability. It suddenly opened up for the next 2 hours. After the driver drops off my order, he said he is going home. So, he just did one round of shopping/delivery for 2 customers, then he goes home.

 

[Dawg52]

The markup for delivery is indeed pretty high. Enough so that it would would dissuade me from the service on a long term basis. For the next few weeks/months though, I consider it a tolerable "cost of doing business" to manage risk.

Yep.....I have no problem paying a premium price for the next couple of months. Safety first. I'll worry about saving money later.

 

[daylatedollarshort]

Yep.....I have no problem paying a premium price for the next couple of months. Safety first. I'll worry about saving money later.

+1. Paying extra for groceries for pick up or delivery could be my first and only blow that dough post.

In my part of the Bay Area right now, it is getting harder and harder to find any open spots for grocery pick or delivery, at any price. I think the demand ramped up since the White House issued the avoid grocery shopping in the next two weeks warning. The peak here is actually expected to be May, as the early shelter in place order has seemed to help flatten our curve. I have a pick up order in for this week, but in trying to place a pick up order now for next week things are looking pretty booked up.

 

[easysurfer]

Looks like I'll be plotting my online grocery shopping today.

Never thought this day would come as I'm able bodied and prefer to pick my own fruits and vegetables. But as a sign of the times, the thought of wearing a mask, watching what I touch and making sure to not physically get too close to anyone sounds more scary than anything else.

I already grocery shopped online for the first time about a week ago through a local grocery store. But after some more thinking, looking at youtube and messaging a friend, I'm now leaning towards Instacart for more store choices.

Seems to me there are pros/cons to just using a local store vs Instacart. A comparison I think is a regular grocery store is like booking a hotel directly at the hotel. Might be a better deal, but less choice. Whereas, Instacart is like using Hotels.com. Another comparison is like getting a car via Carmax vs a car dealer.

 

[mountainsoft]

It would be helpful if folks would tell us what area of the country( at least the state) they are in so we can figure out if the differences are regional, state wide or more local. I am concerned that we are having supply chain problems in my area (middle of North Carolina). Things do not seem to be improving here.

I'm in SW Washington state. Except for TP, flour, yeast, rice, and dried beans our local Safeway store is fully stocked. There are a few items like pastas and soups that are running low, but there has still been enough when I've needed it. Produce, meats, and dairy are all stocked as well as before COVID.

I found flour at a local country store last week. TP seems to come in and sell out quickly, despite quantity limits. I've picked up TP a couple times while it was in stock, so I won't need it for a while.

Ironically, Safeway is still running lots of sales and quantity discounts, 2 for $5 and that sort of thing. I'm sure they are profiting big time from this crisis, though at some point sales will probably be slow as people use up the items they stocked up on.

 

[Moemg]

I use instacart from Publix which is our local grocery store . The markup seems to be on meat . The rest of the items are not too bad.I like that they text me with possible replacements so I can approve or not . They also show sale prices and sometimes even apply coupons.All in all I have been very pleased.

 

[easysurfer]

I just signed up for Instacart and after doing some comparison shopping with Instacart at some local grocery stores, put in my first order.

Overall, I found the process kinda stressful. A lot of variables to contend with. I felt like the character played by Ray Liotta trying to get all my ducks in line as the helicopter was tracking him, buzzing above his house .

I shall see how smoothly (or not) the order gets delivered. Can happen anytime between today and Sunday .

 

[Dtail]

Did 3 weeks of shopping today at Walmart/Publix/Walgreen's. Finished at 8:30am.
One advantage of being a senior.
By us, there are no more real shortages of TP/Paper rolls/Eggs/Meats.
However, still have shortages of gloves/Vitamin C/hand sanitizers.
About 60-70% were wearing masks.

 

[dd564]

My wife went shopping today. (MPLS suburbs).
Got everything she needed including toilet paper!
We weren't low but getting low and today there was some which will take us through (or well into) May and probably through this demand period for TP and other paper goods.

 

[aja8888]

The only thing I have not been able to get is bleach.

Today at the local HEB grocery (Texas), I picked up pork chops, hamburger, pasta, pasta sauce, cheese, frozen meatballs and breadsticks, a loaf of bread, bananas, apples, and a few toiletry items. Store was full of grocery items except for the bleach. Even TP shelves were stocked.

 

[LOL!]

Did take-out of 3 lbs of brisket yesterday evening, plus sides. That's enough for a few days of eating with what we have around the house, so no critical need to go grocery shopping. Last shopping trip was a week ago, so maybe I go again on Friday morning?

 

[travelover]

Placed a pickup order from Fred Meyer (Kroger West) today and it will be ready in one week. I like that they have no extra charge for either pickup or surcharge on the groceries. I kinda feel like I wasted money at Instacart on a previous order as the risk between delivery and curb pickup seems insignificant.

 

[easysurfer]

Just placed an online order with my local grocery store for delivery next Tuesday. After yesterday, spending pretty much the entire day and afternoon on Instacart, decided best to just stick to the local store's ordering system.

No good on Instacart, trying to get a shopper for a store with cheaper prices if no delivery time slots open up .

 

[jim584672]

Walmart started making people wait in line to get in. The workaround is order online and do in store pickup. They let in store pickup right in.

 

[JoeWras]

Walmart started making people wait in line to get in. The workaround is order online and do in store pickup. They let in store pickup right in.

"workaround?" Isn't there a reason for limiting people in the store?

 

[JoeWras]

Just placed an online order with my local grocery store for delivery next Tuesday. After yesterday, spending pretty much the entire day and afternoon on Instacart, decided best to just stick to the local store's ordering system.

No good on Instacart, trying to get a shopper for a store with cheaper prices if no delivery time slots open up .

DW's Instacart try was a failure. She's been very happy with the local store ordering. The only problem is it is a week out, like yours. You have to plan and anticipate.

 

[jim584672]

"workaround?" Isn't there a reason for limiting people in the store?

Social distancing. Also they have arrows on the floor for traffic flow.

 

[Accidental Retiree]

I just placed my first delivery order with Costco/Instacart at 6:35 am, and I received a text at 7:05:

Mark H just started shopping! We'll notify you if there are any changes. Your perishables will be temperature controlled while in-store and carefully handled by your driver until delivery.



Let’s see if the ever-elusive TP actually makes it into the order.

 

[easysurfer]

DW's Instacart try was a failure. She's been very happy with the local store ordering. The only problem is it is a week out, like yours. You have to plan and anticipate.

My plan is to order about once a week from a local store so at least I have fresh fruits around. Along with each order, I'll some stuff to add on that I may be running low on along with the order.

Though my local store is not the cheapest as far as price, their drivers do not take tips. Whereas, from what I've watched and read about Instacart, that is tip driven. In that the shoppers depend heavily on tips and pick and choose what "batch" to shop. So, if you don't include a big tip, an order might just sit and sit. Another way to put it is that Instacart is like an auction, the bigger tipper the better chance of having a shopper. Whereas, my local store, if there is an open time, just reserve that slot, then shop.

 

[Alan]

Did our weekly shop today plus some. The car hadn’t been started in 3 weeks so I took the car to one supermarket while DW walked to another one. (It is only 1 person per household allowed in a store so this has become the new normal for us). Once again there was no line at the store I went to and the shelves were fully stocked including the beer, wine and liquor shelves so I took advantage of that since my list included heavy items that we only need now and again such as washing powder/liquid, fabric softener etc.

There didn’t seem to be a shortage of anything at all. Lots of staff about ensuring that throughput is very quick. DW said there was a short line to get into the supermarket she went to but the wait to get in was only 5 minutes. Since she walked and I drove I looked at where she was when I had the car loaded, saw she was still in the store so drove around to meet her and give her a lift back which was appreciated as she had her backpack plus 2 grocery bags all full. (I’m all heart)

 

[ncbill]

From comments yesterday by our governor we're afraid our state will start requiring no more than 10 people in any store at one time.

So far we've avoided crowds by not shopping at the local Costco/Sam's/SuperWalmart but now we fear we'll be stuck outside waiting in line at even our local grocery stores.

From what I've seen people are not maintaining social distance in those lines outside stores...so we're out early today & tomorrow frantically shopping before the above rule is imposed.

 

[JoeWras]

From comments yesterday by our governor we're afraid our state will start requiring no more than 10 people in any store at one time.

I welcome the governor's actions. It is going to slow down the casual isle cruiser looking for something to do.