Why I May Never Set Foot in a Grocery Store Again

 

Having groceries delivered isn’t brand new – it’s been around a few years (at least in this area). I admit giving one of the first delivery services a try a number of years ago when I had a free code and being very disappointed. The produce was practically spoiled and my frozen foods were completely melted. Yes, the service replaced the items, but it took another visit the next day and made the whole thing feel not as convenient as I had hoped. (I’m not naming the service as this was several years ago and they may have worked out the kinks since then.)

To be honest, the whole idea of having groceries delivered felt like something only the rich and famous would do. As a stay at home mom who was trying to keep our spending within a budget, I couldn’t imagine I would ever be having my groceries delivered on a regular basis.

I’m rethinking that whole position thanks to Shipt!

Let me start by disclosing that Shipt reached out to me when they entered my area (just last week) and expressed an interest in partnering to let my readers know about the service. After my previous experience, I wanted to give the service a try before committing to writing about them so they gifted me a membership and credit to try them out. I was completely wowed by my experience from beginning to end.

My trial came at just the right time. I was lying in bed on a Thursday night when I remembered that I had scheduled a lunch guest for the following day. And guess what – we had hardly any food in the house. I grabbed my phone, opened the Shipt app, selected Meijer as my store, and started shopping.

Since I didn’t have a set menu in mind, I started on the sale page and grabbed a ton of items at the same sale prices you get in the store!

I loaded up my cart with everything I needed for lunch as well as some other items we were getting low on (like coffee!) and some fresh fruit (because I love it and can never have enough in the house). I was amazed that I had filled my virtual cart and kept it all under $65 since I never seem to be able to walk out of the physical grocery store for under $100. Of course I am a bit of an impulse buyer and have been known to go in for milk and come out with milk, sushi and a lemon meringue pie (hey – it was on sale!). There is an area where you can give specific instructions, like “please grab a ripe avocado” or “have my deli meat sliced thin”. I scheduled my delivery for the next morning, rolled over and went to sleep.

Talk about easy shopping!!

The next morning, I got an alert via the Shipt app that Thomas would be my shopper and that he was at Meijer picking out the items for my order.

One of the items was out of stock at the store so Thomas texted to let me know that and suggested a replacement item which worked perfectly.

He then let me know when he was checking out and once again when he was on his way (with an ETA which I appreciated).

Right on time, Thomas appeared at my door with my bags of groceries!

My order was perfect – fresh produce, cold frozen items, everything was just as it would have been if I had shopped myself. The difference was that I was able to stay home and get some work done rather than spend my time driving to the store, shopping, and standing in line. And since I spent more than $35, there was no delivery charge. So yep, I’m sold!!

Some things you might want to know before your first order:

• There is going to be a lag time between when you place your order and when it is delivered. They need to find a shopper, have them go to the store, etc. When you log in to the app, it will tell you when the next delivery time is available and it is usually a number of hours.  The website does say “as soon as one hour” and I’m guessing once it becomes more established, that will be an option here as well, but the service just started here last week.
• As long as you order over $35, there is no delivery charge.
• You will want to be close to your phone while your shopper is putting your order together. If they have a question, they will reach out in real time and you will want to be able to respond.
• You are able to tip your shopper through the app once you have received your order. It doesn’t really make that clear in the app (that I saw anyways) so you do have that option if you don’t have cash on hand.
• You will get an emailed receipt after you receive your order. My shopper tucked some coupons that printed out at the store in my bags as well, which I thought was nice of him.
• After you’ve had a chance to unpack your order, you’ll be asked to rate your shopper on things like communication, getting the correct items, etc. I easily gave Thomas five stars and rave reviews. I like this option because I feel like it incentivizes the shoppers to double check that the food they are picking out is top quality – what that first service I was referencing was missing.
• You can opt for a month to month subscription for $14/month or a yearly subscription of $99 (which comes out to $8.25/month). You can also gift a membership to another person – perfect for those who have elderly parents who struggle to get to the store.

Who is Shipt perfect for?

Families with just one car and limited means to get to the store.

Busy moms who don’t look forward to traipsing through the store with kids in tow.

Busy men and women who run their own businesses and know that their time is money. (That would be me!)

People who have limited mobility and for whom a trek to the store is painful or inconvenient.

Anyone who doesn’t enjoy shopping and standing in line to check out. (That would be me too!)

Want to try Shipt out? (Of course you do!!) You can sign up for a free 2 week trial AND save $10 off of your first order. Hey – that’s $10 in free groceries!!

A huge thanks to Shipt both for reaching out to make me aware of this service and for partnering with me to share this service with my readers. You have a new loyal user here and I may never set foot in the grocery store again!