Grocery delivery, once a luxury, is becoming a mainstay of American life

[mystery-ak]

Grocery delivery, once a luxury, is becoming a mainstay of American life
“If you don’t offer [online ordering], somebody else will — and you will lose the sale,” said one industry expert.

Aug. 10, 2021, 1:15 PM CDT
By Leticia Miranda

Grocery delivery was once seen as a luxury service for a niche group of wealthy suburban shoppers who could afford the convenience of having a few bags of produce and pasta left on their doorstep. But a year and a half after stay-at-home orders kept much of the country working from home, grocery delivery has exploded into mainstream shopping — and it’s likely here to stay, according to industry analysts.

“Most grocers didn’t view delivery that seriously pre-pandemic,” said James Cook, director of retail research with the global commercial real estate and professional services firm Jones Lang LaSalle. “But the demand for online grocery skyrocketed and that includes both delivery and click and collect.”

Restaurants were gutted by the pandemic. Walk-ins and reservations fell by 100 percent between April 2019 and April 2020 as the coronavirus swept across the country, according to OpenTable online reservation service. By the end of August 2020, more than 32,100 restaurants had closed, with roughly 61 percent of them permanently shutting their doors, according to a September 2020 local economic impact report from Yelp.

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https://www.nbcnews.com/business/business-news/grocery-delivery-once-luxury-becoming-mainstay-american-life-n1276336

[Weird Tolkienish Figure]

Curbside grocery delivery, like at Target, is the ultimate in laziness.

[mystery-ak]

I have never done it.

One thing that really bothers me are the grocery store clerks with these HUGE carts blocking aisles fulfilling a customer's online order..Walmart and Krogers are really bad about this.

[Kamaji]

We haven't generally done this, but my MIL is not doing well, and has an aide at home (who is incompetent when it comes to shopping), and it's handy to be able to order her regular groceries online and have them delivered to my MIL's house (the aide is sufficiently competent that she can handle getting the bags from the front door to the kitchen).

[mystery-ak]

We haven't generally done this, but my MIL is not doing well, and has an aide at home (who is incompetent when it comes to shopping), and it's handy to be able to order her regular groceries online and have them delivered to my MIL's house (the aide is sufficiently competent that she can handle getting the bags from the front door to the kitchen).

This is ideal for people like your MIL.

I am sure there will come a time when I have to do it too!

[Kamaji]

This is ideal for people like your MIL.

I am sure there will come a time when I have to do it too!

It is actually.  It's a bit of a drive from our house to her house, and it makes it a lot easier to take care of her without having to do that drive every time she needs groceries.

[Wingnut]

This is ideal for people like your MIL.

I am sure there will come a time when I have to do it too!

Not me.  I'll hop on one of those electric carts, block the isles, hold up traffic  and run people's asses over.

Just thinking about it make me want to not wait!

[GtHawk]

I will take my having no choice, I want to pick out my own fruit, veggies and meat and not settle for what some in a hurry store employee wants or needs to clear from shelves.

[roamer_1]

I have done it, and am fixin to do it sommore. I still ain't getting around real good. I can throw bales and grain, and mainly do chores. Tractors and pickups make all that possible. But walking far is still a ways off.

So chugging around big box stores is still a terrible bother. Especially since I am still on my stick most of the time.

But the garden has done naught in the heat we had... So I am stocking up canned goods.

Now, the delivery company makes a nick per item, and then per job, and then the cost of the delivery person and tip... Don't think this is reasonable. Not by a long stretch.

On average, 100 bucks in groceries costs 135-150 landed at the door.

But, if a feller does BIG orders, it tends to work out better. 400 bucks in groceries runs around 450-475... And if all that is heavy case goods, that is starting to be reasonable. Still hurts like the dickens. It is going to cost me 1500-2000 bucks to replace what should have come up in the garden, and adding the service costs adds to the pain of that.