Why Ordering Your Groceries Online Is A Money-Saving Hack

It's an understatement to say that we're all looking for ways to save money, especially when grocery shopping. While using delivery apps like Instacart and DoorDash often comes with extra charges like markups and fees, there are ways that shopping for groceries online can actually score you some savings. One of the most significant is by allowing you to focus on what's on your shopping list and double-check what's needed in the fridge and pantry as you shop. You can meal-plan and build your list within the app's cart without feeling the stress of wanting to speed through busy aisles and get home. For budget-conscious shoppers, it's also much easier to monitor spending while shopping via app since you can watch the total price increase as you fill your cart, as opposed to waiting for it to finish climbing at the register.

In addition to the perks offered through memberships with certain apps, delivery apps sometimes offer stackable promotions and coupons. Shoppers gain access to both store sales as well as savings exclusive to delivery services. For instance, while Aldi isn't known for coupons, Uber Eats partnered with the retailer to offer shoppers 40% off purchases of $30 or more. And when it comes to those fees, you might not have to pay them at all. In the case of Instacart, the app often waives its delivery fees on purchases made within three days for new accounts. Furthermore, shoppers can opt for picking up their groceries at the store since some, like Target, won't charge a fee for this when ordering through their app.

To be fair, to know for sure if you're saving money, it's important to understand the sneaky ways shopping online may cost you more money. Service fees are tacked onto store pricing, with markups reaching anywhere between 10% and 50% compared to items purchased in store, according to a study done by CNet. This is on top of the fact that those who aren't Instacart+ or Uber One members may not have access to certain benefits, like 10% off their orders or waived delivery fees. There are also quite a few service fees, like when an Instacart shopper needs to deliver over long distances and for priority delivery. Unfortunately, another point to be wary of is that those opting for store pick-up could still incur a fee, as some stores and third parties like Instacart may charge for online orders. 

With that said, the savings of ordering online may still outweigh the risk of being charged more. In addition to promotions, ordering online makes impulse buys less likely, especially since supermarkets employ sneaky tricks to make you spend more upon arrival, from store layouts and long aisles that keep patrons shopping for longer to larger carts and well-thought-out grocery displays that place the most expensive items at easily accessible eye level. Ultimately, whether one saves money over the other depends on each individual and their shopping habits, but anyone could benefit from a certain degree of separation from those crafty sales schemes.