How to Set Up Online Grocery Shopping

When your life hinges on split-second timing, stopping at the store
doesn't always make the cut. And if you have young children, it's
sometimes not even possible. Save yourself the headache and shop
online. With the click of a mouse, your goods will be delivered painlessly
to your door.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Find a service that delivers to your neighborhood. Contact your local supermarket to see if it offers delivery. Or type "online grocery service" into a search engine for regional services such as Peapod.com. Then type in your ZIP code to make sure you're in the delivery area. Outside the service area? Netgrocer.com ships groceries by FedEx.

2. Set up an account. You'll need to supply an address, daytime phone number and e-mail address, and set a password. Find out if there's a delivery cost or a minimum order.

3. Start shopping. Grab your master shopping list (see 302 Create Effective Shopping Lists) and set up an online shopping list, too. The time you spend upfront you'll save each time you shop. Use the site's search engine to find particular items or browse by department (dairy, produce, deli). Check the home page for weekly specials.

4. Think strategically. This is a great way to buy cases of soda and beer, big boxes of laundry detergent and household cleaners, a three-month supply of toilet paper or paper towels, jumbo packs of diapers and infant formula, or any other bulky or heavy items you don't want to lug in and out of your car.

5. Stock up on goods you can't find at your neighborhood market. NetGrocer.com carries a nice array of kosher foods (even kosher pet food), and EthnicGrocer.com has hard-to-find items such as spicy red Thai curry. Schwan's (schwans.com), which has been delivering foods for 50 years, offers full frozen meals.

6. Scan your order to verify that you've selected the correct items. When you've used the service a few times, you'll be able to click through past orders to make sure you're not forgetting anything. Several services allow you to add items from previous orders to your current order.

7. Select a delivery time and day. You'll get several options of delivery windows, usually in two- or three-hour time chunks. Plan ahead: Some services will deliver the next day, some within 3 to 7 days via FedEx.

8. Check out. Enter any promotional codes you've received, coupon codes and, if applicable, your frequent shopper number. Review your order (and approve any suggested substitutions) and pay using your credit card.

Tips & Warnings

• Check to see if you can earn airline miles or points toward your store's rewards program for shopping online.
• If you can't get good organic and seasonal fruits and vegetables in your area, or you'd like them delivered fresh to your doorstep, sign up for produce delivery online at DiamondOrganics.com, DannysOrganic.com or PlanetOrganics.com. Some sites also deliver beef, cheese or flowers. Look into delivery services from local farms at your farmers' market as well.
• When your groceries are delivered, check out the produce and any substitutions before the driver leaves, to make sure it's to your liking. Give the driver unwanted items to return to the store (and credit your account), which will save you a trip to make returns.
• Have it your way. Enter in special requests, for example: "Buy bananas green" if you prefer that they ripen at home. If a service can't fill your order, it will typically contact you via e-mail ahead of time.
• When ordering items in bulk (such as apples), note the unit: Some items are sold by count, others by the pound.

[songo]

on 10/13/2008 hi im in swaziland and want to sell the idea of online shopping to shops here so i need you to help me set up a model of how this is work im considering approaching the first ntional bank and involve them because they do internet banaknig whereby payments would be made through them. my email is [e-mail]