My husband and I are still in a long distance relationship and I'm still living alone with our dog. One of the big challenges I find of living alone is figuring out a good and cost-effective way for meals and groceries. While I do live in the city, the nearest grocery store is a 5-minute drive and I don't have a car. I realised fast that it was too expensive to keep going to the supermarket. Lastly, I don't have a big enough fridge to store a month's worth of food. With that, I found that having groceries delivered is what works best for me.
So if you find yourself in a similar situation or just plain curious about online grocery delivery in the city, hope this helps!
Cost
Is it cheaper to have groceries delivered vs going to the supermarket? Yes unless I take the jeepney going back and forth which I never do nowadays anyway. A round trip to my closest supermarket is Php 250 on the average. The most expensive grocery delivery fee is Php 130. As for the price difference of the items, for some there is like a Php 3-5 pesos difference than the price on the store.
Convenience
The convenience alone is what makes having groceries delivered so much more worth it. When I have my groceries delivered, I no longer have to worry about getting a ride to and from the shop nor do I have to worry about traffic. I also don't have to lug huge totes or bags of stuff around. Obviously, it's much easier just to sit around and wait for groceries at home.
Quality
A common concern is that since you're not picking it out yourself, the quality of the item or its expiry date. Selling goods beyond the expiry date is illegal here in the Philippines under Republic Act 9711 which prohibits "The sale, offering for sale, importation, exportation, distribution or transfer of any health product beyond its expiration or expiry date, if applicable." I have experienced once receiving a loaf of bread that was going to expire the day after. I decided not to complain but it did really suck receiving that. It is very much possible receiving an item that is less than what you desire. However, it rarely happens to me.
Savings
What I realised is that if I do go to the store myself, I almost always end up picking some random stuff I need or more than what I need. I go over the budget. When I order online, I have the time to go through my cart multiple times and it does help me save more. I get to really think about what I buy because I am in the convenience of my own home and there's no rush for me to get it done. There's also a bunch of voucher codes for most apps.
Delivery Experience
I will talk about which stores specifically later on, but just as an overview - the delivery experience has been equally good and not so good. I do have favourite stores and apps I stick with because of the efficiency. The big problem I usually have is when it takes forever to deliver frozen items. Other than that, most riders in my area are usually very friendly.
Unavailability and Refunds
It is unavoidable for stuff to go out of stock. I don't like waiting around for refunds so I like to use the in-app payment wallet such as Panda Wallet (FoodPanda) or Grab Wallet (Grab). Refunds are instant for those. For other stores that do not have their own payment, I use GCash since it's the fastest to reflect refunds.
Stores I Tried
PandaMart
Panda Mart, FoodPanda's in-house grocery shop is my favourite. I just really wish they have fresh meat options. Among all the online grocery shops, Panda Mart has the fastest service and I never had an experience of receiving almost expired goods. The app has real time tracking and are also very generous with promo codes.
Robinsons Supermarket Banilad - via FoodPanda, Grab Mart, Metromart and GoCart
They have a wider selection and is available in three applications. I like ordering via FoodPanda and Grab because of the promo codes and tracking. Their official app which is GoCart does have more options like lesser weight options for meat and vegetables. I tried GoCart once and never used it again because it does not have a real-time tracking. My order arrived 2 hours later than the schedule I chose. The only notification I received was a text message from the rider saying he's already in my location. MetroMart is another option. It still does not have the GPS tracking, but it does show what the shopper's already added.
The Marketplace Ayala Center Cebu and Robinsons Galleria - via FoodPanda, Grab Mart, Metromart and GoCart
I love the Marketplace both online and in their physical shops. They are doing really well with keeping their stocks up to date in the apps especially the Robinsons Galleria Branch even though they seem to have less products in the apps compared to their stores. I prefer ordering still via FoodPanda and GrabMart.
7-Eleven - via FoodPanda
I like this one the least except for beverage and other snacks. I rarely order from 7-Eleven and when I do, only order very small quantities. I got the expiring-on-the-day bread from a 7-Eleven branch before. The branches I ordered from are not keeping a good watch at the stocks they have in the app.
No Brand Ayala Center Cebu via FoodPanda
I wrote about my snack haul from No Brand before. I like this store for the snacks and they're also very quick in the shopping time. The products in their generic brand are really great quality as well. They don't have the biggest selection and I never expect to find all my grocery needs in this store, but they have good products.
Watsons Ma. Cristina Bldg, Robinsons Cybergate and Ayala Malls Central Bloc - via FoodPanda and Grab Mart
It's much faster and more cost-effective shopping Watsons online than browsing the aisles of their stores where I always end up picking up more stuff than what I really came there for. It also does not put me through the wildfire of sales talks they have in the store. Anyway, the branches I tried are very quick and often having my order delivered earlier than expected time. The problem is they don't keep a very good eye on their out of stock items. I like looking at the official website (http://watsons.com.ph) for the stocks in store before adding my items to cart, but even then their items still get out of stock in the app.
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