Online grocery shopping is one of the most convenient things to have been invented. With services like Instacart or other online grocery shopping services, it’s easy to have your weekly food haul delivered to your door. Better yet, apps and websites will remember your order from last time around, so you don’t have to waste time combing through their inventory again. You can set up a standard weekly shopping list and order it with one single touch of a button. You might already know you’re paying a little more for the service, but it’s a luxury, a little treat we’ve all used from time to time. What not everyone knows, however, is that there might be some sneaky charges added to the grocery bill.
Online grocery shopping is definitely convenient, but you’re probably paying more for it than you think. Companies don’t tend to advertise the mark-ups, delivery fees, and other charges they attach to online grocery shopping and home delivery. It’s not that they hide the fees — they just don’t talk about them as loudly as they do about their convenient online shopping services. Going to the store yourself could save you some cash, and not just a few bucks. One New York City shopper reported to CNN in 2024 that she saved $70 on a single grocery trip by going to the store instead of ordering through Instacart. That’s enough to get the most expensive steak on the menu at Texas Roadhouse, and then some.
Why online grocery shopping is more expensive than going to the store in person
Online shopping is handy for life’s busy moments, whether it’s a long workday, a hectic family schedule, or having a newborn in the house – especially since fast food has gotten so expensive. We all know we pay more for the service, but sometimes we don’t take the time to discover just how much more online grocery shopping costs. First, grocers and delivery services charge subscription fees, delivery fees, and a tip is expected for delivery as well. Some stores increase the prices of items sold online or through an app – for instance, at the grocery store Aldi, many items sold online will have around a 10% markup. Some stores offer different brands on their websites and in shopping apps than they do in store. Sometimes those brands have higher prices than their generic counterparts, the ones you’ll find on store shelves alongside the highest-ticket items.
Now, with the emergence of partnerships like Amazon Prime and Whole Foods, kick-backs and rewards are advertised for shoppers who buy online and use delivery. This particular service is attractive because it makes Whole Foods shopping so much easier — and makes it easy to forget that Whole Foods is a notoriously pricey store. Online shopping services can make it easy to forget what store you’re shopping at and how inflated the prices of their inventory might already be.
Do the advantages outweigh the costs of online grocery shopping?
Is it better for your budget to order ingredients for the crispy Thai basil beef recipe and accompanying perfect margarita you plan to make for dinner, or go get them yourself? It’s up to you to decide whether the convenience of Instacart and other online grocery services are worth the price. Everyone has a different price they’re willing to pay for things like avoiding the drive, finding parking, grocery store lines, and squeezing down the aisles alongside other customers and employees pulling orders for the customers who did their shopping online. Plus, you don’t have to worry about things like how to stack your cart if you’re buying bigger items in-store when you’re grocery shopping online.
But there are some advantages to online grocery shopping that could save you a little money, no matter your feelings on crowded grocery store aisles and parking lots. If you build a routine shopping list and stick to it, you’ll avoid the impulse spending traps you find when you go in-store. You’re also able to easily double-check your pantry as you’re shopping and avoid buying more of what you already have at home. You also often get access to discounts, coupons, rewards, and other money-savers in the app that you don’t necessarily get in the store.