How to shop online: 9 helpful tips

"Consult" with the refrigerator

No lists or unnecessary expenses. The advantage of online shopping is that there is no temptation to impulse purchases: cakes, chips and chocolate bars do not loom before your eyes. Take your laptop or smartphone with you to the kitchen and fill the basket, focusing on what is left in the refrigerator and cupboards. Pay attention to the spices and ingredients for baking - as a rule, they are not used very often and therefore either end at the most inopportune moment or acquire doubles.

Plan your purchases so that there is enough food for a week or two. Even in today's situation, it is not necessary to stockpile for several months. The assortment of goods is constantly replenished, do not worry about products disappearing from the shelves. Think of the people who are limited in travel or finances right now: if you buy everything at once, they will not have enough food and essentials.

Use promotional offers

Find a section with promotional items in your online supermarket. As a rule, banners with discount advertisements will show you the way. To avoid overpayments, start collecting your basket from this section. After all, returning to stocks at the end, most likely, you will be simply too lazy. And why do the same work twice.

Track the weight of packaged products

When choosing bulk goods, always pay attention to the initial set weight. Correct it if necessary and calculate the cost proportionally. It is mainly indicated per kilogram. But, for example, garlic is usually packaged in smaller volumes, so the price can be indicated for 100 grams.

Order cereals and canned food

Grocery and delivery are made for each other. This will be confirmed by everyone who has ever carried heavy bags to an apartment in a building without an elevator. And also cereals, pasta, spices and canned food have a long shelf life and at the same time help to greatly diversify the diet.

Don't forget vegetables and herbs

You can also buy vegetables and herbs for future use. Reputable online supermarkets will always make sure that only fresh food is included in the order. And in case of complaints, they will definitely offer a replacement or compensation. You should not deny yourself and greenery. To prevent the herbs from withering, rinse them, dry them, chop them and freeze them. Such a preparation will be much more aromatic than its packaged counterparts.

Take a closer look at the goods under the brand name of the retail chain

Many retail chains have their own brand of products. Often these products are manufactured at the same factories as the products of famous brands, but they are much cheaper. In addition, by indicating its name on the packaging, the manufacturer seeks to strengthen the store's reputation, therefore, monitors the quality.

Check your favorite foods

Next to the weight and cost of the product, look for an icon to add to the Favorites section. Celebrate the items no weekly grocery shopping is complete without. So you don't have to search for what you need every time for a long time, and the formation of the basket will take less and less time.

Check your cart before paying

A simple but important rule. Be especially careful if you did not form the basket at once, but at certain time intervals. Do not be lazy and take a look at the list, because the cost of goods could have changed or something had already been bought up.

Decide on the delivery method

Express delivery

Nowadays, no one will be surprised by classic courier delivery. Its principle is familiar to almost everyone. Register on the website of the online supermarket, put the products you need into the basket, choose a payment method and meet the courier. Fast and convenient.

Firstly, the site, as a rule, has more assortment than on real counters. This is due to the fact that stores differ in size. Therefore, what is in some is not always represented in others. And the order for delivery is completed at the warehouse. Secondly, courier delivery excludes contact with people on the way to the hypermarket and among the counters. Thirdly, you can buy whatever you want and not think about how to carry the bags home. The courier will deliver the groceries directly to the door of the apartment.

Another trend in this area is the collection of packaging for further processing. You can give the courier the plastic bags in which the products were delivered. The packaging will then be sent for recycling.

Contactless delivery

The service is similar to classic delivery, but to avoid a personal meeting, the courier will leave the order at the door. You can use this service only with online payment. When choosing a delivery method, tick the "Leave order at the door" box. Before leaving for you, the courier will call and confirm the address. After arriving at the place, he will dial you again to inform you about the delivery, take pictures of the packages and leave.

If, while sorting out your purchases, you find a mistake - you missed something or, conversely, found something too much - first check with the receipt. The reason may be inattention during the final check of the cart before paying. But if your fault in the incident is not or the quality of the products is in doubt, contact technical support. You can contact the operator by phone or e-mail. Describe the situation to a specialist, and he will offer options for solving the problem.

Delivery to grocery machines

A grocery store is like a mailbox, only much larger for groceries. That is, you place an order, choose a pick-up point, and then take packages from a specially equipped apparatus with storage boxes or from an order pick-up point. This is convenient if you are not going to buy a lot at once (the minimum order value is much lower than for delivery), but you do not want to go to the store. When picking up goods, you will not bump into other customers between counters and near the checkout.

Free grocery delivery to seniors and people with disabilities

Not all of us find it easy to get to the nearest store and bring home heavy bags of groceries, even on ordinary days. And now the elderly and people who suffer from serious chronic diseases are generally not recommended to leave the house.

* Due to the high load during the self-isolation mode, there may not be delivery slots during checkout, but they will certainly appear. Form a shopping cart and wait for a free slot.