When it comes to buying groceries, the majority of us still fancy to get in our cars and drive to supermarkets to shop for our weekly or monthly groceries as online grocery shopping is a relatively new concept in Pakistan. With every year more and more people in Pakistan are clicking their way to online retail heaven but there is still a long way to cover before online groceries business take a center stage.

There’s no doubt that online grocery business is in a premature form in the country and people may give it a try to the emerging trend (if not adopt it), but purchasing grocery online is surely a convenient way. You just order online and voila! grocery appear on your doorstep and you pay cash on delivery.

So here’s a compiled list of advantages and disadvantages of shopping for groceries online.

PROS OF ONLINE GROCERY STORES

It saves time 

Let’s face it, going to supermarkets is a major time waste as it can easily take 2 hours out of your day. Ordering groceries online can save you set a foot in a store, leaving more time for you to spend with your family or things you love.

Through online grocery apps, you can order groceries right from your home without any hassle.

Through howmuch.pk,  people even can browse the content and order groceries online from office and can pick it later on way back home without setting a foot in a grocery store. This helps to save a lot of time.

It reduces impulse buys

Grocery stores have strategically placed items near checkout counters to trigger the impulse buying behavior of customers. Similarly, sales items hanging out can easily damage your will to stay on budget.

Through online grocery shopping, you cannot be fooled by these store gimmicks and can shop efficiently from your mobile phones. You can also ditch unhealthy foods off your shelves by using online delivery service.

Delivery charges are very reasonable

The delivery services are quite reasonable and competitive. Most of the grocery service providers in the region charge different rates that vary from 100-300 PKR. There are various online grocery stores that offer free delivery on orders above 1000- 5000 PKR  depending on each online grocery store.

Price Convenience

With online shopping, you don’t have to snag all over the city to compare the prices of groceries. With just one click you can take an advantage of best deals available and enjoy the perks of online grocery shopping.

CONS OF ONLINE GROCERY STORES

You can’t select your own stuff

When you opt for online grocery shopping, you can’t walk the aisle in supermarkets and handpick the fresh fruits and vegetables by yourself.

Although most of the service providers guarantee freshness, so all you have to do is to trust another shopper to select items for your family.

Delivery might take time

It's not all doom and gloom. Sometimes don’t just rely on good sites because when you have placed an order through online grocery service provider, then it can take few hours to days to get what they have promised to deliver!

Although most of the orders get delivered within 24-48 hours of time span.As more and more competitors are entering in this e-commerce industry, online retailers are also focusing on prompt delivery and customer experience.

You might still need to go to supermarket

Sometimes shoppers might not get everything you ordered due to out-of-stock items and you may find that you still end up needing to make trips to the store for perishables items such as milk and bread. Unless you are blessed to have a shop nearby, then it shouldn’t upset you much.

FINAL WORD:

Online grocery shopping is still new but exciting part of e-commerce business in Pakistan.You just have to figure out the best grocery delivery app in your city. Everyone should choose to give it a try at least once.

For the maximum benefit, develop a plan that makes sense to you by creating a list of items that you can order online smoothly such as detergents, cooking oil, spices, cereals & bathroom utilities, which can actually save your time, energy and calories.

Plus for the perishables items such as milk and bread, you can do your grocery shopping from nearby supermarkets.