Never Say Never About Buying Groceries on Amazon

According to Louise Tutelian of Yahoo Finance, two of the top four categories of items to avoid buying from Amazon are Groceries and Cleaning supplies. She makes price comparisons between items on Amazon and on other etailers including Peapod and FreshDirect, as well as bricks and mortar stores including Meijer and Alberston's. Unfortunately, Ms. Tutelian made two mistakes; comparing apples and oranges and using the word "never".

Comparing Apples and Oranges
Ms. Tutelian compared purchasing grocery items and cleaning supplies from Amazon.com to Peapod, FreshDirect, Meijer and Albertsons. A more accurate comparison would be comparing purchases from AmazonFresh to these other retailers. AmazonFresh, similar to Peapod and FreshDirect, delivers fresh produce, groceries, and cleaning supplies directly to consumer's homes. AmazonFresh even offers a "Pre-Dawn" delivery, bringing items to the customer's doorstep prior to 6:00 AM so they're there when the customer wakes up. Groceries are kept fresh in temperature-controlled reusable totes. Frozen items stay frozen and chilled items stay chilled.

AmazonFresh is not available everywhere in the US (neither is Peapod or FreshDirect) however, based on Amazon's growing distribution network they will be national relatively soon. Amazon has already been delivering groceries in the U.K. and Germany for the past 18 months.

Using Ms. Tutelian's shopping comparison items on AmazonFresh, this writer found the following:

Prices for Heinz Ketchup 20oz Bottle

• FreshDirect - $2.85
• Peapod - 2.39
• AmazonFresh - 2.12

Prices for Busch Baked Beans 28oz Can

• Meijer - $1.84 per can for a case of 4 (not sold by single can)
• AmazonFresh - $2.11 for 1 can/ $1.71 per can for a case of 12

Prices for Mr Clean Cleaner 40oz Bottle

• Albertson's - 40oz summer citrus all purpose cleaner $3.99
• AmazonFresh - 40oz lemon all purpose cleaner $3.21

As you can see, AmazonFresh compares very favorably against these other home delivery e-retailers. Ms. Tutelian is correct that purchasing certain items from Amazon's Marketplace may result in higher prices. Currently marketplace vendors are free to set their own prices, but Amazon is in the process of regulating Marketplace vendors and working with manufacturers and consultancies such as etailing solutions to standardize pricing. In addition, easy access to online price checking can save consumers from making price purchasing errors.

Never Say Never
In her narrow focus on item prices, Ms. Tutelian has missed the big picture. The home delivery of groceries and cleaning supplies is in the early stages of a growing consumer trend that offers convenience and cost savings far beyond the price of individual items.

A majority of leading grocery retailers (including Safeway, Von's, Genuardi's, Safeway, Von's, Meijer) are rolling out home delivery with major incentives such as free delivery and additional home delivery coupons to get consumers on board. Wal-Mart offers home delivery of a limited number of dry goods, including breakfast cereals, beverages, snacks and candy, that it fulfills from warehouses or has drop-shipped by suppliers. Those items are delivered to customers through either Wal-Mart’s own trucks or contracted carriers.

As noted above we are in the early stages of this dramatic consumer trend. Online e-tailers are just beginning to refine the supply chain and home delivery process. They are also just beginning, helped by companies such as etailing solutions, to understand how to market online consumer product goods to consumers. Price will always be an important factor, especially in this economy, however the internet has altered the equation by using technology to save customers time through efficent ordering and money by saving gas.

Ms Tutelian, I do not know where you live or your specific circumstance, however I can safely predict an online grocery shopping trip is in your future.

If you want to read consumers reviews of AmazonFresh check out these reviews on YELP