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| Groceries at your Door |
With the advent of on-line shopping, I decided to try out ordering groceries
on-line at some of the local Singapore sites. I loved the idea of being able to go on-line,
select what I would like and have someone deliver it right into my kitchen. No more
lugging heavy groceries while trying to flag a taxi down to get home from the store.
I found that although each site provided a similar service ie. on-line grocery shopping,
there are significant differences in service, availability of products and selection. I
tried out three of the local sites - namely E-mart, Home-Club and Cold Storage. You
have to register with each site in order to place an order, so that they have a delivery
address and contact number. You can also receive an e-mail or fax confirmation of your order
if you so wish.
While this article focuses on Singapore on-line shopping, it may provided an interesting insight
in what to look for when choosing similar services in other countries if you happen to live
outside of Singapore.
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| Shopping Experience Summary |
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| Ease of Use |
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| Delivery schedule |
1.5 hour slot btw. 10.30am - 5pm |
2 hour slot btw. 10.00am - 7.00pm |
4 hour slot btw. 9.30am - 5.30pm |
| Delivery Charges |
$10 if <$50,
$5 if <$70,
no charge >$70 |
$3.50 if <$30,
No charge if >$30 |
$5 charge on all orders;
min. order of $60 |
| Payment Options |
Credit Card, Cheque or Cash |
Credit Card, Cheque or Cash |
Cash/Cheque
or CS Card only |
| Selection |
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| Availability of Items |
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| Customer Service |
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| Loyalty Program |
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| Overall Rating |
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| 1. www.e-mart.com.sg |
Ease of on-line system: Better especially since they have upgraded their
system and worked out a few bugs.
Service: Excellent. They have always delivered on time and would call me if they were
delayed due to a rain storm or heavy traffic. One sweet deliveryman delivered in a downpour
one day and he was kind enough to cover everything in plastic so that the groceries did not
get wet. Fresh & frozen items are packed in dry ice in styrofoam containers.
Selection: Good selection of fresh & frozen meats, fresh fruits & vegetables (I have
been generally impressed with their quality), dairy, bread, and dry goods.
Availability of items: Items that are not in stock are well marked. If they are short
on items beyond that, it is usually only 1-2 items and they will call me.
Other perks: Reward points - for every 400 points accumulated, you can redeem for $10 off your next
order. You generally accumulate 1 point per dollar spent, some items have bonus points.
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| 2. www.home-club.com.sg |
Ease of on-line system: Good, their product listing is fairly well laid out. The
only glitch is that you have to hit the "Check Out" button in order to view what
you have in your cart...
Service: Good - their delivery has been on-time and the orders all correct.
Selection: They have a good selection of canned and dry goods.
They do not offer fresh or frozen meats, fish, poultry; no fresh produce although
they have bread & eggs.
Availability of items: Items in limited stock are marked.
Other perks:
1) Loyalty points - accumulate 1 point per dollar spent and redeem gifts with points.
2) "Locked bag" service - you can request for a locked bag if you are not going to be home
when your groceries are going to be delivered. There is a $20 refundable deposit for the
bag and lock. I have not used this service since I like to check my groceries when it
arrives, especially if I am ordering fresh items. This may be a good option for those
of you who work and would like to have the groceries at your door when you come home.
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| 3. www.coldstorage.com.sg |
Ease of on-line system: Fair, they have improved their site over the last 3
months, such that their system no longer loses my order partway through. Although their
product navigation is not very clean and intuitive. In addition, product pictures have
to be view individually making visual confirmation of what I want to buy time
consuming.
Service: Poor. I've had an order where 50% of the items were out of stock.
I've had an order where I've received an order confirmation, but the order was never
delivered. So with all these troubles, I had a number of opportunities to talk
to customer service. Sorry to say each time they have been less then service oriented.
While these problems may be coincidental, it is enough for me to decide not to their
service again.
Selection: Good selection of fresh & frozen meats, fresh fruits & vegetables,
dairy, and dry goods. Some items available at the store are not available on-line especially
bakery items. Plus many in-store or advertised specials don't seem apply for when ordering
on-line.
Availability of items: Cold Storage's system does not tell you when an item
is sold out or has limited stock so that you know not to order them.
Other perks: There are limited weekly promotions for on-line shopping.
Additional Note: I wrote to the customer service manager regarding my
on-line ordering troubles, it has been a month now and I have yet to receive a response -
how long do you think I should wait?
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Lastly, don't let my experience affect your on-line grocery shopping choice. I suggest you try
all three sites or even others and find the one that's right for you. Some of you may not like
shopping for groceries on-line while other might wonder how you ever lived without it!
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