The Problems with Buying Groceries on the Internet

I finally had the internet installed at my flat the other day. This meant I could now experience the benefits of ordering my weekly shop on the WWW using one of my credit cards and then have it sent to my flat. After placing my first online grocery order however, I can say that there are many benefits to visiting the store in person if that is at all possible.

Most people have a standard route to which they follow when making their way around their local supermarket. Forgetting items is easy when ordering online as shoppers do not navigate the virtual shop in the same way they would a real, physical one. You might know where to find yeast in your actual supermarket but the grocery categories are hardly simple to use on the Tesco website.

Searching for items can also be problematic if you do not search for them by exact name. I would have found it useful, for example, that when I searched for “sandwich fillings” many products appeared in the results (meats, cheeses etc can all make great sandwich fillers) instead of just products specifically named “sandwich filling” (“cheese and onion sandwich filler” for example).

I would have preferred the ordering process should I have been able to list item search results in order of price. Staring at the shelves contents in person at the store seems to make more sense than the ordering system that Tesco has in place currently. This non-familiarity through the site seems to be purposeful however, drawing consumers towards products (usually of a higher cost) that they would not usually buy when in the bricks and mortar store.

The cost of you shopping can only be estimated also. This is because Tesco cannot guarantee that all of your requested goods are in stock. The “picker” (who does the physical shopping on your behalf) might be forced to make a number of substitutions. Or – if a suitable replacement is not available either – remove the item from your shopping list completely. This will, therefore affect the overall charge to your bad credit credit cards for your delivery of shopping.