Online shopping is a very popular alternative to shopping in store these days. For those who have access to this service it can be a fantastic and relatively stress-free alternative. Online shopping means avoiding the car park, the queues and the temptation of placing items that you simply don’t need into the shopping trolley.
Organising your online shopping
Online shopping can be a time-consuming process the first couple of times that you use it. You will usually find yourself having to navigate your way through the store website and identifying items and brands you want to buy. Big stores have worked very hard to make this a relatively simple and straightforward process for their customers and once you’ve got the hang of it then you will usually find the system works very effectively.
Online shopping means being organised and planning ahead. You need to work out in advance what items you need from the shops and ensure you have included everything you want in your online order. If you use a meal planner this will help you identify what key ingredients you need to stock up on.
The beauty of online shopping is that, once you’ve set up a master list with the regular list of items you buy on a weekly or fortnightly basis, the process becomes much more straight-forward. You can set up a list that will be recalled each time you log back into the website so you won’t have to manually enter all the information after you have done it the first time. While you may have to add extra items to your online shopping trolley from time to time it can be a great time saver in the long run.
Timesaver 1
One of the challenges many parents face is packing their little ones into the car and the struggle to find a parking spot on a busy day. For many families, the only time they can do the grocery shopping is on a Saturday, which is traditionally a very busy time at the shops.
The joy of online shopping is that, once you’ve set up your shopping list online, the only time you’ll spend on it is by clicking the “confirm” button on your order.
You can nominate a time that suits you for delivery of your grocery items. That way you save yourself the battle of facing the actual shops, but it also means you can have the groceries delivered to your home at a time that is convenient to you.
However, if you want to save on the delivery fee many stores offer the “click and collect” alternative. This means you can nominate a preferred time for you to go in to the store to collect your order and you can save valuable time by not having to physically do the shopping itself and can nominate a collection time when you know the car-park won’t be too busy.
Timesaver 2
Avoiding the queues and temptation of unnecessary purchases are also great timesavers with online shopping. Once you’ve set up a Master List on your grocery store website you can bring it up each time you return to place an order on the website. As well as streamlining the shopping process, you are less likely to be tempted by items you don’t want or need.
Timesaver 3
Many parents find it a challenge to include bulkier items in their weekly shopping because they will often have their little ones in tow. Online ordering means that when there is a special, on items like Huggies® nappies for instance, you can order a few boxes and save yourself the time and energy having to buy them and get them home. Instead they can be delivered straight to your door and stored away until you need them in the future.
Useful links for online shopping:
The top 5 online shopping sites in South Africa:
Other links for online shopping:
