Internet Grocery Shopping Slowly Gaining Ground

bakreule writes "Online grocery shopping, once the laughing stock of the internet, has quietly started gaining ground. It seemed that the idea had been killed shortly after the bust as being just another bomb. The article has some good interviews and details to show how this industry is developing and whether or not this surprising growth can continue. I'm interested in seeing how grocery product advertising will be affected in this highly competitive industry."

Comments

Online food

[NIK282000]

I've seen far too many of those "grocery gateway" trucks driving around. The way this is going geeks will never need to leave the house.

Yeah, I'll pick you some NICE tomatoes ;-)

[Scumbag Tracker]

I always wondered how these places stay in business. Do you really think the vendor's actually put a lot of thought into finding the perfect tomatoes, freshest eggs and milk, and softest loaves of bread?

Or do they sell whatever the oldest crap they can get away with selling?

Personally, unless I'm buying books or CD's, I'll stick to real-life visits to the local grocery store. ;-)

Re:Yeah, I'll pick you some NICE tomatoes ;-)

[sckeener]

Selling you the oldest crap they can get away with selling doesn't work so well for customer retention.

that's pretty much straight out of the article (so RTFA)

When I was using online groceries, they used restaurant quality produce. After restaurants get their pick, they go to groceries, so picking produce at the local grocery is picking the restaurant rejects!

If you want fresh groceries that you pick, you are going to have to go to a road side produce mart.

FreshDirect

[turnstyle]

Some people, when looking for a new apartment here in NYC will ask: "does FreshDirect deliver here".

Interesting

[RazzleFrog]

I live outside of a major city but too far to get this right now but even when I lived in the city my biggest problem with the idea was stuff like produce. I love cooking and I am very picky about my fruit and veggies and cuts of meat. According to the article, however, this seems to also be a big concern of the companies. They even claim that they would do a better job. I would have to see that.

I actually enjoy grocery shopping sometimes (ok call me a freak) but I would to pull up a recipe and have the ingredients delivered.

Do it at night.

[corporate_ai]

While this trend may catch on in ultra-urban settings like NYC (where even McDonalds delivers), I can't see it making its way to mainstream America.

For one thing, who wants to pay for delivery? Second, my biggest gripe with grocery shopping was the crowds, which is why I love 24 hour grocery stores... I simply go at midnight.

It's already taken ground in England

[Enlarge Your Penis]

I, and I'de estimate 90% of the people on my street, already rely on Tesco's and Sainsbury's online grocery ordering. IMO the greatest benefit is not having to put up with screaming kids whose parent's post school shopping coincides with my post work free time.

Re:It's already taken ground in England

[dcordeiro]

my kids don't [stop that!!!] usually [DON'T GO AWAY] give me any problem [be carefull with that JAR !!!] or to anyone who is around [don't drop that jelly thing in my keyboard!].
It's always a [DIDN'T I already said STOP IT ?] pleasure to take them with me. fkjaj giaj agij adfgi 1234567890 [ Don't f*#$ touch my laptop]

"In America"

[Vanders]

I think you mean "In America, Internet Grocery Shopping.." because certainly here in the U.K, it's pretty big business. My wife and I have been using Tescos once a week for two and a half years with no problems. Tesco and several other large stores who provide online-ordering and delivery are also turning a tidy profit in addition to their regular brick & mortar stores.

I miss WebVan

[AKAImBatman]

When WebVan was around, they were *extremely* popular. So popular, that everyone would wave at the delivery guy as he drove by. I myself was an extremely happy customer as it saved me from having to carry a lot of groceries home. (I didn't have a car at the time.)

I think that WebVan's problem had less to do with a poor business model, and everything to do with scaling the business way too fast. They burned through a tremendous amount of cash every time they entered a new market. As a result, they were left with very little operating funds. They always figured that they'd be able to get more funding. Unfortunately, you can always count on VC investors to go to extremes. They over funded during the boom, and they simply wouldn't fund at all during the bust.