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Step 2, Groceries
prostoalex writes "Fortune magazine runs an article on New York - based FreshDirect, provider of high-quality groceries. Unlike Webvan, which failed with $1B of venture capital, FreshDirect seems to make pretty good money off online grocery sales - revenues of $225M are projected by 2004. The minimum order is set at $40, the company also charges $4 for delivery." If you want to check out their store, try zip code 10022.
and begs the question: How can I get my product/service/ideology advertised on Slashdot for free?
-dameron
Next thing you know we'll be able to order our dates online
All of a sudden they have tons of potential new customers in area code 10022.. At least thats what the web log says.. Hope they aren't filling warehouses based on that info, or they could suffer the webvan fate.
air and light and time and space
Many people don't own cars there, because of hard to find parking. And when you don't own a car, buying groceries in mass quantities is difficult, not to mention time consuming. Try doing YOUR grocery shopping without a car for the next month, let's see how you fare. Unless the store is literally within 4 blocks, you will find that carting 2 typical bags back to your house is a very time consuming chore. The fee this company charges is minor, especially in New York! I would kill for such a service here in Memphis. I currently am without a car. A backpack can only carry so many items. Like I say, try doing it without your car.
newsweek had a similar story in last week's issue about more traditional brick 'n mortar grocery stores going online
the thing with them, though, is that they already have a ton of locations and are in no rush to scale up their web orders: they already are in the black on the retail front and want to slowly and cautiously roll out the web strategy
they also have an edge over the online start-ups through name recognition: it's a lot easier getting somebody who already shops at your store to try something new, rather than risk it on some company they've never heard of.
i couldn't find the link at the Newsweek site, but the issue may still be on shelves at stores around the country until monday or tuesday
I lived in Sydney, Australia, a couple of years ago. I tried a service called 'ShopFast'. It was the first time i'd used such a service, the main reason i was giving it a try was because i was too lazy to go and get groceries myself.
After ordering and waiting a couple of days, It was delivered and what impressed me was that I could pay by EFTPOS by use of a mobile EFTPOS terminal.
It was cheap, fast and I didnt have to go outside. Perfect for the geek that I am.
Be you Admins? nay, we are but lusers!
Actually it's pretty smart. If it was just a popup add or banner, we could block it with an entry in our hosts file.
Ad Placements^H^H^H^HStories are a little harder to block.
Other news sites do this already, you just likely don't notice it. CNN does it all the time. I know CTV Newsnet in Canada does it on the air more than once per day.
occultae nullus est respectus musicae - originally a Greek proverb
...both Safeway (might be IE-only) and Albertsons deliver groceries. Both charge a $9.95 delivery fee and deliver from local stores.
I must admit, though, that I'd rather see a startup company doing this than the already-established grocery stores. I was a happy Webvan customer, and I still think the model is quite viable. (Plus, I love the FreshDirect site design.) Here's hoping FreshDirect or a similar company takes a stab at this here in the Bay Area!
Simpli - Your source for San Jose dedicated servers and colocation!
Probably something novel like "Collect Money From Customers".
Yahoo just realized that if they actually charge for their services, they make money.
Ok, so I'm just a "Brand Ambassador" but I have been around the office and such. Their $50 free food promotion really catches people off guard. We really are just giving you $50 to try us free with no delivery charges.
While there are brick and mortor grocery stores that delivery, I gotta say the food I've been picking up from the warehouse beats anything else. I guess there is some truth in the fact that what they get does cut out the middleman making things fresher. The pastries are great. MMMmmmmm pastries, especially the fruit tart.
Plus I like getting the already cooked meals by gourmet chefs at rather dirt cheap prices.
Anyway, just thought some would like to know how the food is coming from there.
Also we're rolling out very slowly, we're not trying to cover the entire city at once. This was Kosmo's mistake as well as Peapods. It looks like we'll be doing well in the future, just wish it was going to be publicly traded. Oh well, I'll settle for the food I've been getting.
-- taking over the world, we are.
Ok, I'm legally blind, so I will never be able to drive, ever and I hate hearing people whine about how life is impossible without a car. Ok now that that's out of the way, from the sounds of things all you've tried is nothin' and you're all out of ideas. Have you considered:
:-D
-A taxi cab?
-Calling your friend for help?
-Mass transit?
-A bicycle with a rear storage bin?
-Buying your groceries as you need them?
For me a trip to the grocery store is almost a daily occurrance. If I can't walk or bike to where I want to go I get a bus, or if I'm in real need a taxi. Of course this means you have to keep a running inventory of your groceries so you know what you need before it runs out.
My solution to this problem was to write a little app that allows me to record what I have and when it entered the system. From there I generate a report that I can print out for myself that includes information on useage frequency, average quantity purchased, average price, item importance and critical low stock notification. Yeah, I spend more time sorting my stuff when I get back from shopping, but I don't often run out of anything and the system was capable of supporting at least four people.
New features I might add are an internet-based interface and WAP device capabilities so If anyone else goes to the store I can get a new report on my phone or before I leave work thru the net! (Also, since I buy a lot of the same products over and over I could monkey around with a barcode reader maybe).
So to sum all this junk up:
Just because you don't have a car doesen't mean you aren't allowed to use your brain to solve a problem
crazy dynamite monkey
In the UK most of the major supermarkets have internet shopping. For 5 quid you get it delivered to your door in a refrigerated van.
Despite how cool this whole idea sounds, we still trudge down to the actual store, pick the stuff by hand and get a cab back (which costs about 4 quid).
Why ? Well we tried it several times from different supermarkets and each time something was wrong - things missing, food with a same-day sell-by date and the van turning up hours late...a right bugger if you were staying in to wait for it. The missing items were either just missing or marked "out of stock". We refuse to believe that the supermarket has run out of bread and bananas.
So we'd have to go to the shops anyway to pick up the missing stuff anyway.
Also, they will select replacement items if something is out of stock if you wish. However the selection is usually made by the store surrealist and not too helpful. Sorry, we're out of cheese, so we have selected some curry powder and a mop as a replacement.
The United States is _designed_ so you need a car to go shopping, which few exceptions (Manhattan being one of them). Where I have lived, I have always been able to get my groceries on foot, and we're not talking 7-11s here, we're talking real grocery stores.
I have not only done my shopping without a car for a full month, but for, say, ten years. Sure, it's a ten-minute walk to the store. So what? It takes me longer to get to and from the garage anyway.
The real killer is grocery stores in the subway stations, where you can pick your stuff up on your way from work without a minute of detour. I haven't used them, though, as I prefer to walk to a store, even if it's a mile or so away.
I'm surprised no one's mentioned tesco.com yet. It's the world's largest online grocery delivery service, with revenues of over $560m last year, and it's running an operating profit. They've just started expanding out of the UK and have launched in the US in a partnership with Safeway. The unique thing about them is that rather than have a huge distribution centre somewhere, they make use of their existing bricks and mortar infrastructure. When you place an order, it gets sent through to your nearest store where a member of staff goes and picks it off the shelf for you, and it's delivered the next day (within a 2 hour timeslot you request, too). I've been using them for a while now, and have few complaints (other than a few IE-isms on the web site).
"The invisible and the non-existent look very much alike." -- Delos B. McKown
I do all my grocery shopping at Wal-Mart these days. It's a little farther to drive than the other stores, but it's a heck of a lot cheaper. The same stuff (almost literally, same brands and all) that costs $100 at Publix costs about $70-75 at Wal. Winn-Dixie is closer to Wal's prices, with the "value card" (yeah, yeah, privacy, blah, blah...but they don't do address verification, you just fill out the sheet and get your card right there, so as far as they're concerned, I'm Joe Smith from 123 Main St. in Boise, Idaho... ;) ) but it takes twice as long to shop there since half their inventory is a week past the expiration date (I swear to God one of their salamis tried to bite me once. Luckily it hadn't managed to grow any teeth. Yet...) Wal's also open 24 hours, which is nice for a night owl like me. Only downside is the aisles are crammed with pallets and carts of inventory at that time of night, so it can be rather hard to navigate...I had to walk half the length of the store one time when I found myself on the wrong side of the aisle and every space between the middle islands was blocked by pallets...
The other downside to Wal-Mart is their selection is somewhat limited, but they usually carry everything I'm looking for, so it's not a big deal for me. Oh, and they can't sell beer after midnight. Damn blue laws...
DennyK
Is that not the case in the US? Don't the main supermarkets do this as standard?
Cheers,
Ian
Troy
We, here in Istanbul/Turkey have an online grocery for 4 years!
Its Koc holdings "migros" grocery (joint venture with swiss migros) and works well, they even deliver stuff 2-3 hours later, WITHOUT any fee.
http://online.migros.com.tr/index_sanal.html (in turkish)
Also they use those cool GSM credit card machines so you don't have to give your CC over the net.
I don't understand the big deal. I mean, if it was a VRML or VR shop you bought stuff by actually walking around on browser (yes a UK company exist), it would be big news, but whats the deal with this one?
"Just in time" is ok for non essentials, but for necessities like food it is a tad more prudent to have more than a meal or two's worth on hand. Try having a few weeks minimum in case of an emergency or disaster, etc, along with some water. It might not have ever happened to you, not yet, but it's happened to unmpteen zillion people in the planet's history that unforseen things occur and you might not be able to "stop by" and grab that daily suply. At least have some basics that could last. This is sincere advice, it's my primary avocation, this subject. Survival/preparedness issues. It applies to poor and rich, nerds to luddites, it doesn't matter, never forget you are a carbon based life form with "needs" as opposed to "wants".
We have here short term fresh foods, medium term storage "normal" grocery foods, and very long term stored food, in addition to our vegetable garden. and I've always had that-more or less-since my late teens,including times of no vehicle and either walking or taking ten speed every where. It's doable. Modern delivery and being able to use the internet for food is a good thing, and you can get excellent quality food delivered to your door, from major urban to out in the boonies, anyplace a fedex or ups or a UPS person can make it.
The deal is you can do both, it doesn't have to be either/or. You can do daily light shopping for fresh, but for sure don't neglect basics and have at least some weeks or a months worth-a realistic month-on hand at all times.