Grocery Pick Up and Delivery
There are never enough hours in the day! I feel like I have been saying this so much lately. No matter how much I get done, my work is never done. Grocery shopping can take hours out of anyone’s day. As you may recall, I have a 2 and 4 year old to contend with in the store. While most of the time, they are well behaved children….sometimes they can be all but impossible to shop with. So, with that said grocery pick up and delivery have been a life saver on many occasions.
Many of you are Curious!!!
I have seen many of my followers recently asking about grocery pick up and delivery. I have tried several of the services offered, and have taken the time to do research on popular grocery delivery or pick up.
Instacart
The first service I would like to discuss is Instacart. Instacart is a grocery delivery service that caters to customers to many stores, for a fee. There is a monthly plan that can save you money. It costs $FILL IN every 30 days. Your minimum order must be $30. Often times, it offers 2 hour delivery. I must say the quickness with which I get an order is quite nice.
I have used Instacart many times to feel that I have a good handle on the pros and cons of the service.
Pros
- Has a flat rate option
- Often times delivery within 2 hours
- In many areas, it offers many stores to shop from
- Has a status that shows at what point your order is
Cons
- Some prices are higher than they would be in store, depending on the store (Example: Milk at Albertsons was approximately $2.79 but on Instacart I have seen it as high as $4.79! )
- I have had a few of the delivery people share poor opinions of their jobs
- Drivers are not supposed to bring their children, but often do–and in my experience the drivers that do–forget parts of my order. (This has happened to me multiple times)
Walmart Pick Up
I have used Walmart pick up a few times. I have had a perfect experience every single time. It is completely free. One does not even have to get out of the car! They have designated parking spots. All you have to do is call and tell the associate what parking spot you are in!
- Prices are the same as in store
- Free curbside pick up
- I have never had an incorrect order
Cons
- Pick Up time (at least in my area) is always many hours out
Walmart Delivery
I have only used Walmart Delivery once. The experience was wonderful. I was glad not to leave my house. You must spend at least $30 to use this service.
Pros
- Offers same day delivery
- No markups
Cons
- Does not offer a subscription plan, it will cost $9.95 per time
- Often will be several hours before groceries arrive
With all of these, I have had a decent experience. I thing the biggest negative out of all of these was actually Instacart’s markups on certain stores. Thankfully, now, Instacart offers more stores that do not use marked up prices.
By the way, if you are considering using one of these services, be sure to add the ingredients to my Buffalo Pasta salad which can be found here.
I hope that this quick review helps you in making your decision to try out this convenience! If you have tried grocery pick up or delivery, please feel free to share any experiences in the comments. The more reviews people have to go on, the better informed their decisions. Please share this blog post with your friends, so they too can make an informed decision.
Some more interesting things about Walmart pickup (for me) is that I have about 10 stores about 7-10 miles away and only two do it (and of course they’re both 8 miles away) although that may seem relatively close that’s about 30 minutes in light traffic. They also never seem to have any availability same day, therefore its way more hassle than it’s worth for me!
Yes, thanks for sharing. Living in North Idaho, it is seemingly a lot less populated than other places so it makes sense that same day is not always an option.
Pro-tip for using Walmart Grocery Pick-up… (they would not appreciate me sharing this, but…) If, like me, you live in an area with few large grocery chains, you probably consolidate your trips to town for errands and supplies.
I’m barely functional in the morning, so I always scheduled between 2 and 6 pm. The items I wanted would frequently be sold out, which I find extremely annoying. To fix this, I started taking 10 am appointments, and then picking up as soon as I feel well enough to move.
I get occasional substitution items, but almost always get what I ordered. It might really bug them if I was shopping once a week or more, but the vast majority of the time, it’s once a month.
For me, this service is really valuable since I can no longer get out of the house alone. It means I get to do my own shopping, and not hope the person doing it for me can find some obscure ingredient I need.
Thanks for sharing that valuable tip!