Grocery Shopping

[harllee]

I am going to do a big restock this week because our cases are rising. I am going to try the Walmart grocery delivery instead of curbside pick up this time.

 

[Gumby]

I think the real spike will occur two weeks after Thanksgiving and again two weeks after Christmas. Then we'll have a couple of months when people tend to just hunker down at home even in normal years. Easter is on April 4th in 2021, so that's about 3 months to get things in hand. (all this assumes no readily available vaccines before next summer).

 

[Amethyst]

Me, too. Teen and young adult grandkids will be driving golf carts all over the neighborhood and partying in the back yard pools, which everyone on all sides of us has (we have a pool, too, but no grandkids). I don't expect that to be any different this year than 2019.

I think the real spike will occur two weeks after Thanksgiving and again two weeks after Christmas.

 

[retire-early]

It is not just the single 20-somethings.

There are mainly young families; e.g. mom and dad in their 30s and grade school children who live near us.
The adults associate with others in the neighborhood and others not in the neighborhood.
Just today I see a car pull up and one of the wives gets into that car.
I seriously doubt that the other women in the car are part of this neighbor's bubble.

People are living their lives as if the pandemic does not exist.

The only concession is that they are required to wear masks when they go into public places.

Otherwise, the children of multiple families play with each other.
The adults visit each others homes.

What pandemic.

 

[NateW]

I am going to do a big restock this week because our cases are rising. I am going to try the Walmart grocery delivery instead of curbside pick up this time.

We just tried the Walmart grocery delivery and are quite pleased with it.

 

[daylatedollarshort]

We don't have a close by Walmart that has curbside pick up, but we use Walmart online for pantry staples and Sam's curbside pick up for fresh items, like bread and fish. They seem to have their act together and our local Sam's curbside pickup works great now. I shop for most of our produce in the off hours at our local 99 Cents Only store. They have a nice selection, even some organic, most for $1 a pound or less. They close at 10 pm so I go at 9:30 pm when there's hardly anyone else there and scoop up around 30 pounds of produce for the week, plus whatever other bargains I can find.

 

[harllee]

I used Walmart delivery yesterday--it is great! Delivered on time, contactless, delivered up the stairs to my porch. I left the delivery person a nice tip, it was worth it to me not to have to get the bags from the parking area up to my house. One item was missing and I was easily able to get a refund online. I recommend it. There is a 14 day free trail which they extended to 30 days when I signed in. I plan to sign up for the year --$100 for a year of unlimited deliveries.

 

[iloveyoga]

I used Walmart delivery yesterday--it is great! Delivered on time, contactless, delivered up the stairs to my porch. I left the delivery person a nice tip, it was worth it to me not to have to get the bags from the parking area up to my house. One item was missing and I was easily able to get a refund online. I recommend it. There is a 14 day free trail which they extended to 30 days when I signed in. I plan to sign up for the year --$100 for a year of unlimited deliveries.

I've truly enjoyed it!! I even like their substitutions....I have tried some new stuff that way. If you don't like an item, they quickly do a refund.

 

[W2R]

Even before the pandemic, I was getting all of my nonperishable grocery items through Amazon Prime Pantry. They were great back then. However, after the pandemic hit, I felt their service deteriorated markedly. Perhaps they were overwhelmed. Anyway, about half my orders since March have been incorrect items and/or delivered weeks after I ordered them, damaged, or lost in shipment and refunded.

So, on the evening of the 29th (the day after Hurricane Zeta hit), I ordered TP, paper bowls, and peanut butter from Target. This was my first time ordering from Target but making an account and ordering was not tough. The items were no more expensive than on Amazon (which has been out of the paper bowls for weeks), and shipping was free since my order total was over $35. Just now, only two and a half days later, and in the middle of hurricane devastation, all of my items arrived by Fedex in perfect shape.

If Amazon does not get its act together, I may be a convert! This morning Amazon automatically took $129.95 for my annual Amazon Prime membership fee, which did not impress me much under the circumstances.

I didn't know if this is the right thread for this post, but so many of us are having groceries delivered these days that I thought I'd try putting it here.

 

[pacergal]

Yep, I have used Target also for some items. Always quick delivery and tracking.

 

[TrvlBug]

Haven't read the article yet, in today's paper, headline: 'Pantry hoarding returns as Covid rates spike' with photo of empty shelves. Now that we're out of the power shutoffs due to fires, I need to restock my freezer. My shelf stable supply is great as DH and I mostly dislike that stuff, preferring fresh, so I still have a plentiful supply.

 

[RonBoyd]

People are living their lives as if the pandemic does not exist.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/31/us/coronavirus-transmission-everywhere.html

(My emphasis)

When the coronavirus first erupted in Sioux Falls, S.D., in the spring, Mayor Paul TenHaken arrived at work each morning with a clear mission: Stop the outbreak at the pork plant.

That outbreak was extinguished months ago, and these days, when he heads into City Hall, the situation is far more nebulous. The virus has spread all over town. “You can swing a cat and hit someone who has got it,” said Mr. TenHaken.

Gone are the days when Americans could easily understand the virus by tracking rising case numbers back to discrete sources — the crowded factory, the troubled nursing home, the rowdy bar. Now, there are so many cases, in so many places, that ? ?? ? ?? ?: ? ? ?? ? ?? ?? ?? . “It’s just kind of everywhere,” said Crystal Watson.

 

[ivinsfan]

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/31/us/coronavirus-transmission-everywhere.html

(My emphasis)

It is OK if we stick to grocery shopping? Let's not start down that rabbit hole.

 

[ivinsfan]

I think in terms of habits changing some people's habits will change forever. Our small town has 2 chain full service stores, an Aldi's and a super WalMart. We're a county seat in a rural area so we have a few choices. In the old days I'd read all the ads, look for specials, decide what I wanted and finish things off with a stop at Aldi's.

I'll never go back after doing WalMart pickup, I realize I spend less money, get everything I want and spend a fraction of the time doing it. Pre Covid Walmart got well less then 5% of my grocery spend , now it's 100% and that won't change when CV is gone.

 

[Amethyst]

It makes me wonder what Walmart's plans are, once they have hooked everybody on free curbside pickup. Surely they will start charging (whether openly, as a subscription fee, or covertly, as in the prices are higher than in the store...which customers won't know, since they don't go into the store).

I'll never go back after doing WalMart pickup, I realize I spend less money, get everything I want and spend a fraction of the time doing it. Pre Covid Walmart got well less then 5% of my grocery spend , now it's 100% and that won't change when CV is gone.

 

[harllee]

It makes me wonder what Walmart's plans are, once they have hooked everybody on free curbside pickup. Surely they will start charging (whether openly, as a subscription fee, or covertly, as in the prices are higher than in the store...which customers won't know, since they don't go into the store).

Walmart in my area has started delivery to the house --groceries and anything else in the store. It is great for me as I have steps up to my house that are causing me some problems and with Walmart delivery they bring the items up those steps to the front door. Cost is $100 per year or about $13 per month for unlimited deliveries (you have to order $35 at a time which is no problem), worth every penny. I do tip the delivery person, just add it to the grocery charge. I don't see how other groceries can complete. The Walmart website says you are charged the same price as in the store. The cost of Walmart groceries is significantly cheaper than the other stores in my area (we have no local Costco).

 

[ivinsfan]

It makes me wonder what Walmart's plans are, once they have hooked everybody on free curbside pickup. Surely they will start charging (whether openly, as a subscription fee, or covertly, as in the prices are higher than in the store...which customers won't know, since they don't go into the store).

That's a good question. For example I was checking to place an order and saw WalMart had an outstanding special price (rollback) on some 80% ground chuck, our favorite. I immediately placed an order for 6 days out and put in a bunch of meat. Three days after ordering the meat went back to regular price. But I got all my meat for the special price. So that day it was cheaper to pick it up then it was to go in the store.

I agree with your premise that they might start charging. Our Walmart always has lines at the regular checkouts (sometime they might have only 3 or 4 checkouts open) and the self checkouts. Yet they have employees wandering around the store picking up food for other customers. I know for sure that some of my orders probably take at least 30 minutes to fill.

 

[Another Reader]

I used Walmart delivery yesterday--it is great! Delivered on time, contactless, delivered up the stairs to my porch. I left the delivery person a nice tip, it was worth it to me not to have to get the bags from the parking area up to my house. One item was missing and I was easily able to get a refund online. I recommend it. There is a 14 day free trail which they extended to 30 days when I signed in. I plan to sign up for the year --$100 for a year of unlimited deliveries.

The problem here is that the Walmart in the bad neighborhood is closer than the Walmart in the good neighborhood. The quality of the food and the employees in that store is poor but the delivery is sourced from that store with no other option. So no interest in Walmart delivery here.

 

[retire-early]

I wouldn't be adverse to doing pickup at Walmart.
Pop open the truck and have them put the bags in.
Then drive away.

 

[GalaxyBoy]

I tried grocery shopping Sunday morning and it was so crowded I turned around and left. Monday morning at 9:00 was almost deserted. I'm retired! What the heck was I thinking going to a store on its busiest day? The downside is that they're not fully restocked with produce that early on Monday.

 

[Koolau]

I tried grocery shopping Sunday morning and it was so crowded I turned around and left. Monday morning at 9:00 was almost deserted. I'm retired! What the heck was I thinking going to a store on its busiest day? The downside is that they're not fully restocked with produce that early on Monday.

We have now pretty much documented the best time to do our Costco run. Pretty much Monday through Thursday between 10:AM and 1:00PM. (Full disclosure, we've not really tried before 10AM since we don't get up too early.

Friday, though you'd think it would just be another w*rk day, seems to bring out people all day long. Our 'local' (girl) friend warned us about pay-day Friday - happens every 2 weeks. You can actually see it and know whether it's a pay day or just another Friday.

So, just to be certain, we avoid shopping (well, now, grocery run) on Fridays. YMMV

 

[braumeister]

We have now pretty much documented the best time to do our Costco run. Pretty much Monday through Thursday between 10:AM and 1:00PM. (Full disclosure, we've not really tried before 10AM since we don't get up too early.

Our local Costco lets people in at least ten minutes before 10 am. I'm pretty quick, so most of the time I can finish my shopping by about 10:00 when they open the registers. I rarely have more than one or two people ahead of me to check out.

 

[MichaelB]

Our Costco opens one hour early on weekdays, 9 am, for seniors. That is my preferred time, it’s super easy to get in, shop, pay and get out before the crowd.

 

[Aerides]

Our Costco opens one hour early on weekdays, 9 am, for seniors. That is my preferred time, it’s super easy to get in, shop, pay and get out before the crowd.

Mine too. One day I showed up around 9:30 - they carded me and said I'd have to wait outside!

 

[REWahoo]

Our Costco opens one hour early on weekdays, 9 am, for seniors. That is my preferred time, it’s super easy to get in, shop, pay and get out before the crowd.

^ This. Only time we go unless I have to make an appt for an adjustment to my hearing aids outside the geezer hour.