Grocery shopping is sometimes always the bain of my existence. I used to love it. I loved being able to walk up and down the aisles finding new products and grabbing my food for the week. But that was back when I lived with my parents and wasn’t planning meals.
Now, since I’m an adult and all, grocery shopping is a weekly task that I don’t look forward too. We try to buy a lot of our items at Sam’s Club, but obviously we can’t buy everything in bulk. 8 pounds of ground turkey anyone?!
We live across the street from a Market Basket, but have rarely found ourselves shopping there. It’s always packed. Even on a Wednesday night. And neither of us like crowds. Of course, we pop in from time to time out of convenience, but really prefer to do our shopping elsewhere. It tends to be Shaws, which is right up the street from where I work.
Like most people who work full-time, I struggle to find the time to go to the store. I hate going on weekends (far too busy). And I don’t like going after work, but that tends to be when I go most often. When I go after work, I usually rush around and forget half the things on my list, because I just want to get home.
When I recently discovered Peapod by Stop and Shop was delivering in my area, I decided to give them a try. I had heard from friends what a great experience they had, so I figured it was worth giving them a go. I’ve always found the prices in the store crazy expensive, but I was willing to give the delivery service a try.
My Verdict
Completely well worth it. Like anytime you grocery shop, it’s worth seeing what’s on sale, as well what their store-brand prices are. Our produce arrived in great condition and very fresh. Our ground turkey was on sale for $3.99 a lb, and has an expiration date of September. Our dairy products also have a longer expiration date and looked great.
I really liked that you can sign up for notifications for your delivery. I was received one when our delivery was next and one when the driver had arrived. I chose a 5PM – 7 PM window, and the driver arrived at 5:04 PM. Extremely timely.
The one thing to be wary of, besides watching for sale prices, is when to have them deliver. They do offer super-saver delivery days when you save $5 off the delivery charge. The normal charge, at least for us, is $9.95. I chose the Super Saver Day and saved the $5 bucks, which makes a huge difference. If you can wait to have your grocery delivered, then take advantage of the Super-Saver Days.
Also be fore-warned, if you are in dire need of groceries like I tend to be when I haven’t gone for a few weeks, you will not be able to do same-day delivery. You can usually do next-day, but same day is not available. Just keep that in mind.
I was also thrilled to get a $20 off coupon for being a first-time customer. It certainly helped! $74 worth of groceries for $54 bucks (with delivery!).
My Final Thoughts
- Going forward, I feel that I’ll be less likely to forget important items. I’ll also be able to better plan for recipes and such because I can add them to my list and save it as I go. Much less stressful, and far more convenient.
- It’s not like a quick trip to the grocery store. It’s perfect to plan for a week’s worth of groceries, but not good if you are completely out of certain things and just don’t feel like going. I’m sure I’ll still find myself stopping by the local Shaw’s for quick pick-ups, but hopefully they will be fewer and far between since I’ll be able to plan better.
- The prices actually seemed lower than in store. Maybe it’s because I wasn’t faced with 60 different types of breads all on a wall in front of me, but instead a listing with sizes and prices. I was able to compare and the better priced products that I can in store.
- I was concerned about the quality. I check all of my expiration dates before buying. I give all of my produce a solid once over (most of the time) to make sure it will last. And by choosing an online option, this couldn’t happen. I was very pleased to find everything fresh and a longer shelf life. Longer shelf-life and fresh items = no wasting of money.
Bottom line: If you’re a busy person or family like I/we are, it’s worth checking out Stop and Shop’s delivery service. Groceries right to your door, when you want them!
Disclaimer: I was not approached, or asked, by Stop and Shop to use Peapod or write this review. Due to a good experience with them, I wanted to share it and provide my thoughts on it.