I compared grocery delivery vs shopping in store for a month and one was way cheaper

So back in February I decided to run a little experiment on myself since I was spending way too much on takeout. For two weeks I did all my shopping through Instacart from my usual King Soopers, and for the other two weeks I dragged myself to the actual store. I thought delivery would be way more expensive because of fees and tips, but man was I wrong about my own impulse buying. In store I grabbed a bag of chips I didn't need, a random candle on clearance, and some fancy soda every single trip. With delivery I stuck to my list because it felt weird adding extra stuff for no reason. The delivery weeks averaged $82 per trip while in store was $113, even with the $7 service fee. Has anyone else noticed they spend less when they don't actually walk through the aisles?

3 comments

3 Comments

young.thomas13d ago

$42 difference is wild just for resisting a candle.

murray.robert13d ago

Oh come on, @young.thomas is totally right but let me play the other side here. I think you're missing the hidden costs of delivery - you're not counting the tip or the fact that you're paying higher prices per item on Instacart since stores mark stuff up. And honestly, that $82 average probably doesn't include the times you forgot something and had to run to the store anyway for milk or eggs. Plus when you shop in person you actually see the clearance section and can grab deals you wouldn't know about online. I bet if you tracked it for a full month your numbers would flip.

ivan_harris12d ago

Guilty as charged on the tip thing, I definitely lowballed that. Last week I tipped $12 on a $60 order and my brain still tried to tell me that was the only extra cost. About the clearance section, you're not wrong either. I once saved $8 on dented soup cans at the store and celebrated like I won the lottery. I'd probably mess up the math so bad trying to account for all that, I'd end up paying myself $42 just to stop thinking about it.