Grocery shopping sucks sometimes. Admit it; you feel the same way. For me, it often takes days to get my grocery list exactly where I want it so I can save as much money as possible. I often shop multiple stores – Kroger, Aldi, Albertsons, Dollar General, Walmart and our local Spring Market – in order to get the best prices possible on what I’m buying. Since we tend to do all our grocery shopping in one day, it can be a truly exhausting day. Usually it results in my kitchen and living room covered in bags with only the perishables getting put away immediately. The rest of the groceries get done the next morning after we have had some time to rest. I’m all for finding new ways to save on groceries so I started hunting. It was these exhausting trips that had me looking into grocery delivery. I wanted to know if making the switch to order groceries online for grocery pickup would cost me more. I also was curious if it was a less stressful process. I have to tell you; I was pleasantly surprised!
Up until recently, I never would have considered it a money saving measure to order groceries online. I had used grocery delivery and grocery pick up before, but never as a way to save. Instead, it was used for those moments where I simply couldn’t make it to the store. Now don’t get me wrong; I’ll do anything to save money up to and including living in a hotel full-time for six months, but I simply couldn’t see the ways that grocery pick up and grocery delivery saved me cash. At least I couldn’t see it at first.
How Grocery Delivery and Grocery Pick Up Can Save You Money
Like I said earlier though, I was very pleasantly surprised. While it is true that often I was paying more per item for grocery delivery, the grocery pick up prices were comparable. Plus, I was saving money on groceries if I took the time to hunt down the deals to order groceries online. Then I realized that even when I was paying a few cents more per item, I was still saving more money than I previously had been. The reasons simply weren’t right in front of my face so it took me a few shopping orders to check.
To get started with grocery delivery or grocery pick up, you’ll want to know what your different options are. There are several options and not all of them will work for you for one reason or another. There are plenty of other ways to buy groceries online so please don’t mistake these as the only ones. These are just my favorites.
Recommended Grocery Delivery and Grocery Pick Up Services
Instacart – Instacart is probably one of my top three favorite grocery delivery services. The prices for Instacart are a bit higher than in store, but it is never by much. I’ve used them a lot at this point and have only had an issue with my order being wrong one time. When that happened, Instacart made it right with a correct delivery (and I got to keep the wrong items!) within 45 minutes of being notified. I love that I can shop multiple stores one one order as well since I upgraded to their premium option. In addition to the savings I get by shopping multiple stores, Instacart often has exclusive coupons and deals that I can’t find anywhere else. If you have never used them before, new Instacart customers can get a free $10.00 credit when they sign up for an Instacart account HERE.
Plus, Instacart works with Ibotta which means you can get cash back on your regular groceries! To do so, sign up HERE for an Instacart account HERE, sign up HERE for Ibotta, then shop through Ibotta when you want to place an order. It’s that easy!
Walmart Grocery Pick Up – Walmart is my favorite place to buy groceries online for one reason. The prices are the exact same – if not better – than they are in store. This means I know exactly how much my grocery trip will cost before I even head to checkout. Not only that, but the items you can purchase are not limited to groceries. You can buy almost anything Walmart has in stock which makes it a much quicker item than Site to Store shipping. While Walmart Grocery Pick up doesn’t offer coupons and they don’t take gift cards, you absolutely can find clearance prices and rollbacks when you order groceries online with them. Plus, if you’re new to Walmart Grocery, you can get a $10.00 off $50.00 Walmart Grocery Pick Up coupon code when you sign up for a Walmart Grocery account HERE.
ClickList – Clicklist is the online grocery pick up that Kroger offers. You won’t get a free credit or coupon code for signing up, but Clicklist works with the current sales ad and you can use both paper and digital coupons! I use Clicklist quite a bit myself simply for the exclusive Clicklist only coupons they offer. A lot of the time there are several BOGO coupons that make great snacks for my girls! Once you sign up for a Clicklist account, simply add any digital coupons that Kroger has to your Plus Card. They will come off with your Clicklist order. If you have printable coupons, let the attendant know before you pick your order up so they can scan them.
The other benefits to using Clicklist is that it works with Ibotta too! You get a regular grocery receipt when you pick up your order so you can use it to cash in on any Ibotta rebates you qualify for!
Amazon – Oh boy. Amazon is the king if you want to order groceries online and have your groceries delivered. Using Amazon is actually a fantastic way to save money on groceries and the grocery delivery service I’ve used the longest. For groceries, you’ll find the Prime Pantry program, Subscribe & Save program and Amazon Fresh program to choose from. They each have their own merits for using them.
Prime Pantry (get a FREE 30-Day trial to Prime Pantry HERE) lets you fill a virtual box with your items. Once your box is full, you pay a small, single delivery fee per box, however, with THIS free trial, you’ll score FREE unlimited shipping for 30-days. Prime Pantry works with Amazon exclusive coupons which means you can often get a very smart deal on groceries! If the cost of Prime seems as if it would be too much for your budget and you get any type of government assistance, you can score 30 days of Amazon Prime FREE HERE and get a lower monthly cost ($5.99/mo) HERE.
Subscribe & Save is an auto ship program that is great in its own right too. Not only do Subscribe & Save items have lower prices, Amazon coupons can also be used and when you have five S&S orders going, you save an additional 15% on them. It is super easy to cancel any of your items too, It only takes a single click inside of your Amazon account.
Amazon Fresh is not available in all areas (sadly not mine), but it works just like InstaCart. Because I’ve never been able to use it, I’m afraid I don’t know much about it other than it is a fresh grocery delivery service. I do have friends that have used it and absolutely love it! You can sign up for a 30-day FREE Trial of Amazon Fresh HERE. You can head HERE to check to see if Amazon Fresh delivers to your zip code.
There are a few others that deserve mentioning, but to keep this post from turning into a novel, I’m just going to list them. Grove Collaborative (get a FREE 5-piece Mrs. Meyers cleaning Set from Grove HERE) for cleaning supplies, paper and plastic and health & beauty items. Honest Company for baby items, HBA or cleaning items. (Get a FREE baby or cleaning bundle HERE).
Vitacost for groceries, hba, holistic health and more. Plus you can save 10% of your order when you sign up for Vitacost HERE. Thrive Market for natural groceries, natural hba items and natural cleaning/home products. (Save 20% off your first Thrive Market order HERE)
Why You Should Buy Groceries Online to Save Money
As I said, there are a lot of reasons to use a grocery delivery service or to use grocery pick up. They may just not be obvious to you. If you’re currently trying to stop living paycheck to paycheck or you’re just looking for new ways to save money on groceries, they may be a bit more obvious. If you’re budget is fine though, you may have to look harder to see them. No matter whether you see them or not, I think you’ll agree that these are some pretty strong reasons to use these types of services next time you need to order groceries online.
Coupons are easier when you buy groceries online – It is easier to use coupons when you buy groceries online. There are no coupons to clip, carry or mess with. You simply click the coupon button and the digital coupon has been added. It’s as simple as 1, 2, 3!
Side Note: If you are going to buy groceries online, be sure to sign up for an Rakuten account before you shop. Rakuten is a cash back shopping site that will pay you cash back on qualified purchases. Plus, Rakuten will give new customers $10.00 in FREE cash back when you create an Rakuten account and make your first qualified purchase of $25.00 or more. You can check them out HERE.
Impulse buys are not an issue when you use grocery pick up – Impulse buys are an incredibly dangerous but necessary part of staying on budget. If they get too far out of hand though, you’ll do serious damage to your finances. When you order groceries online or use grocery pick up, you eliminate any impulse buys since you’re not standing in the store being tempted. This one is really important if you’re currently having money issues and are trying to find ways to stop living paycheck to paycheck.
Online grocery delivery often gets you exclusive deals – Like I mentioned earlier, exclusive coupons and deals are a stable for those that order groceries online. This could be anything from a percent off coupon to free items and more. These exclusive coupons are not available for shoppers who shop in store which makes it a great reason to buy at least a few of your groceries online or to use grocery pick up.
Side Note: Really want to kick up your savings a few notches? Grab my book, Six Dollar Family: From Six Dollars to Six Figures! It’s packed with more frugal living tips, practical DIY’s and more! Currently available in paperback, Kindle and Nook formats.
Up to date and real time prices on your grocery list – Another benefits to grocery pick up is one that works even for those that still want to shop in store. When you’re making your grocery list, you can hop onto the grocery pick up website and get real time and correct prices for the items on your list. This is incredibly helpful for making sure you stay within your budget and is how I plan my menu plan each month when I need to shop. It’s also great for making sure you have the pantry items you need to stretch meals and make a meal seem larger without adding extra cost.
Grocery pick up saves time and stress – I think we can all agree that time is money and when you order groceries online or use grocery pick up, it saves you massive amount of time. Not only that, but there is no stress of taking the kids into the store and fighting the “I wants,” of dealing with other people and crowded stores and the other stressful problems that shopping in store has. Since you’re saving so much time too, you’re saving yourself money and allowing yourself to be free for things that are more important than grocery shopping.
I never thought I would be one who would adore grocery delivery or grocery pick up, but to tell you the truth, I love it. I am a busy mom of two teenage girls who is a single mom 2-3 weeks out of the month because my fiance’ drives a truck. I am a small business owner trying to keep my head above water in that regard. Anything – and I do mean anything that can help me save time and money is very high on my list of things I love. If you’ve been waiting to buy groceries online or to use grocery delivery, give it a shot. I’m certain you’ll love it as much as I do!