Online shopping connects with busy families
DOUBLE income couples with one or two children are turning to online grocery stores to provide them with their weekly shopping order.
Over the last year the number of Irish people using online grocery sites has doubled, according to Tesco Ireland, and this number is set to continue to grow in 2003.
Busy couples with kids, the elderly, and housewives form a core part of the market who have started to shop online regularly for their groceries, “We have noticed a significant increase in users of the service in the run-up to Christmas. Customers appreciate having bulk orders delivered to the door,” said Dermot Breen, director of corporate affairs with Tesco Ireland. Although the first order is time consuming, weekly orders take an average of 15 minutes to complete.
“Many of our customers will be topping up on their groceries over the festive season using our online store,” said Mr Breen. “Drinks, food and all essential items will be delivered to homes across the country.” Tesco has 63,000 registered customers here and says it covers around 75% of all households in its internet delivery catchment area. While the store states that Irish online customers have doubled in the last year, the number of regular users of the service has not been revealed.
For a charge of 7.20 customers can get goods delivered within a specified two-hour time slot up to 14 days ahead, or on the same day if a slot is available.
“You can send in an order at any time of the day or night which customers appreciate. As you can book a slot in advance, it’s possible to get a delivery just when you need it, for example on the day when you return from your holidays,” said Mr Breen.
Superquinn’s similar service allows customers to browse the goods in stock and list their full order before actually going online, saving on costly phone bills. According to Geraldine Penney, Superquinn Food Business Manager, more customers ordered their turkeys, hams, napkins, tableware and drinks online this Christmas than at the same time last year.
The slots on December 23 were almost all booked up earlier in the month, she said, while delivery slots on the shopping days before New Year were also in demand.
Ms Penney said couples with young children enjoyed online shopping because of its convenience and said more and more people with disabilities were also using the service.
“Generally speaking customers spend more on online shopping orders because these orders often contain bulk foods and drinks which people don’t fancy carrying to their cars,” said Ms Penney. Superquinn has 45,000 registered users and it’s estimated that just over half this number are regular users The service operates in the Greater Dublin area, with customers as far as Naas and Bray.
While the online shopping basket closely matches direct shopping patterns, customers have reservations at first about ordering meat, vegetables and other perishable goods over the internet.
Supermarkets say concerns over the freshness of goods tend to evaporate when the system is tried, as the delivery service is fast and effective. Delivery vans are equipped with fridge and freezer compartments in order to ensure goods arrive in perfect condition.
“Our staff are trained to shop for online customers as though they are shopping for themselves. They pick the best products on offer at the store for these customers,” said Mr Breen.
He added that there was an advantage to buying frozen foods online as items were put straight into freezing compartments in vans and therefore never even got a chance to begin to thaw out.
With over €2m invested into online shopping facilities to date, Tesco says further growth is planned with more customers going online each week. The two Irish providers of online shopping also say they are confident of further growth in 2003 Ordering online is not for everyone, especially for those who enjoy supermarket shopping. But it’s an excellent option to have if your time is precious and your home freezer lies empty.
With a bulk shop online once every few weeks you can top up on all basic foodstuffs and household items. And you won’t have to worry about traffic jams, queues at the checkout or buying plastic bags
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