If you were to ask me a week ago what I thought of online grocery shopping, I would have laughed at the idea because of how ridiculous I think it is. More recently though, I have begun to question whether or not buying groceries online is an ethical solution to a very common problem.
I went to Whole Foods the other day for the first time and I’m almost positive that the workers that there thought something was seriously wrong with me. As I walked through the store, I was enthralled with the extremely diverse selection of organic and local products being sold. Each aisle gave me that same childlike pleasure; one similar to seeing the beach for the very first time.
Getting dried fruit was a hard enough decision on its own, but when I had to decide between dried apricots, plums, figs, bananas, apples, pineapple, dates, and mangos it became quite a challenge. The same thing happened when I approached the chocolate aisle too. When the grocer asked me for the fourth time if I was finding everything all right, I finally told him that I had no problem finding everything, but it was making a decision that was keeping me in that torturous place for so long. With that said, I won’t even bother going into detail on the food court. Just for an idea though, they had six various kinds of soup featured that day, a station for you to make your own pho, and the most delectable-looking cupcakes I’ve ever seen — and that's not all!
On my way back that night I pondered a question my mom and I frequently discuss after our very long, drawn-out and strenuous trips to the grocery store, and that is: why the heck are there so many different brands and versions of the same exact product? Why is it that when you go to the store, you can’t just simply go and pick up butter? You have to decide whether or not you want salted or unsalted, if you want individual sticks or a tub, the whole hog stuff or the reduced-fat option and so on.
I understand that we all possess our own preferences when it comes to what items we count as necessary for our homes. I also understand that what one person considers a staple, another does not. It's so hard to decide sometimes though because I can’t always afford to go out on a limb and purchase something that I think might be good, and ends up being completely and utterly distasteful.
Aside from having to make a decision and being overwhelmed with options, the one problem I am constantly running into at the grocery store is always coming out with more stuff than I intended to buy. This could have something to do with all of the options, or ads, or sales...or it could be that I'm grocery shopping while I'm hungry. Regardless, I have a tendency to purchase items that I don't actually need. I'll go into the store strictly to get only milk and bread and then I'll see coffee and although I may not need it at the time, I buy it anyway because it's on sale or I don't know when I'll be able to make it to the store again. Before I know it, a trip that was only supposed to take 10 minutes ends up taking 45.
A friend told me about this site called Nature Box. Basically you can choose anywhere from five to 10 snacks that you receive every week, every other week, or once a month. I love snacking, so for me this would save a lot of money and give me the opportunity to try new snacks without feeling guilty.
With these factors in mind, I believe that online grocery shopping could very well benefit someone in saving money. It would enable the consumer to be in control and distinguish their needs from wants; they wouldn't get distracted by the marked down Valentine's Day candy or the crazy selection of cereal that makes you just want to buy the whole aisle because how else can you choose?
I could see this type of transition giving people the ability to research the products they are buying and to look up customer reviews so that they can be sure it's worth their money. Of course these things would be time-consuming at first, but when you think how much time you spend driving or walking to the grocery store in combination with how much time you actually spend shopping, it could end up being almost equal if not less time.
When I began to contemplate the question of purchasing groceries online, there were several things inhibiting my decision...things that automatically made me feel like if I were to do so, I wouldn't be playing my part as an individual. I didn't want my decision to reflect a lifestyle that says I support the laziness and obesity rates of America, or that I think it's OK how technology has begun to rule our lives.
One main argument on the difference between online grocery shopping and physically going to the store is that there is no human interaction. There are several instances though, when I go to the store and don't talk to one single person because everyone is either on their phones or avoids conversation. Even if we do talk with the person at the checkout stand, it's usually a quick "Receipt in the bag or with you?" and that doesn't exactly count. There have been a couple of times when I've been truly impressed with the customer service at a grocery store, but it's very rare that I go back and have that same luck.
If we want to develop real and genuine relationships with our grocers, then what we should be doing is buying locally. I can guarantee that the people at Safeway don't remember me any more than I remember them. Not because I don't care, but because there are simply too many workers in and out, just as there are shoppers.
It turns out, that you can even buy local groceries online! For example, you can sign up with a site called Local Harvest and they will match you with a farm in your area that sends boxes of produce to your home, depending on what you want and how often you want it.
I'm not suggesting that everyone needs to suddenly start buying all of their groceries online or locally. There are some families who have a planned schedule of when they grocery shop each week, they've been doing it for years and it works great for them. I don't even know if I will make this change in my own life.
All I'm saying is that before you completely eliminate the thought like I did, you should first at least consider the advantages and what such a change might look like in your own life. What once seemed like just another advancement in our world to complain about has now begun to make me think that in online grocery shopping, we could be taking advantage of our resources in the most efficient way possible.
