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Eight Online Grocery Shopping Downsides

By now, churlish readers are mumbling that this must be too good to be true. I admit there are a few disadvantages to buying groceries on the Web. Strikes against online grocery outfits follow.

Convenience doesn't equal instant gratification. Online grocery deliveries must be scheduled about a day in advance. So if you were shopping for a dinner party tonight, you'd still have to hoof it to the market. Webvan gives you a one-hour window for deliveries; Peapod requires two hours. After-work time slots (such as from 6 to 7 p.m.) and weekends fill up quickly. As a result, you may have to schedule a delivery two or more days ahead for a desired time slot.

You don't always get the picture. Items are displayed online in small to medium-size images that can make it difficult to gauge their actual size. Recently, for instance, I purchased a 3-pound tub of margarine from Webvan when all I wanted was the 1-pound size. (Even though the site did in fact display the size of the product I purchased, I picked the wrong item.) Sometimes, Peapod offers no product image at all. And neither site displays Nutrition Facts information (such as caloric content) consistently. In this regard, Web grocery shopping can't compare to the supermarket.

Not many generic items. Most supermarkets sell their own branded or generic versions of painkillers, salad dressings, soft drinks, and other commodity items. The prices for their generic products are typically lower (sometimes far lower and certainly enough to compensate for the slight online price advantage if you're willing to buy house brands) than nationally advertised brands. Currently, Webvan and Peapod sell a limited number of no-name products. Both sites offer the same, fairly broad range of name-brand products in popular varieties and flavors as a supermarket would.

Imminent expiration dates. Sometimes the expiration dates for perishable products (such as milk) delivered by Webvan and Peapod are too close for my comfort. I always check the dates upon delivery--and you should, too. If it's less than a week away, refuse the item, and the delivery person will take it off your total bill on the spot.

Coupon clippers need not apply. Currently, Webvan doesn't accept manufacturer coupons. (Sorry, Mom, but you can stop mailing them to me now.) Peapod shoppers can use them, though the cost savings are deducted from their next order rather than the current one. Peapod also features a page of about 20 interactive coupons; the savings are automatically deducted from your checkout tally. But that isn't the limit to special savings: Both grocers offer weekly special discounts on selected products.

Items can go AWOL. Now and then, an item I ordered doesn't make it into the delivery truck, or something I didn't order does. The simplest solution: Check each item against a printout of your order while the courier is still on hand. Webvan's site does a good job of telling you what's in stock as you shop. With Peapod, you don't know if an item's not available until the courier shows up without it--and that could spell trouble if that item is, say, the Cornish hens you planned to serve as the main course at a dinner party.

No squeezing the Charmin--or anything else. Mr. Whipple would love online shopping, because you can't touch his beloved brand of toilet paper until you've paid for it. Unfortunately, the rest of us may want to explore new marinades, squeeze the seasonal fruits, or discover products we never knew existed; nothing beats browsing the aisles of a supermarket for that. You can surf through listings of product categories on both sites, but it's more like looking at a library card catalog than browsing the stacks.

Special diets? Stick to the real store. Webvan and Peapod do a good job of highlighting Kosher foods, but that's about it. Webvan displays a symbol next to each Kosher item, for instance, while Peapod has a Kosher section. Otherwise, those on gluten-free or other restricted diets may find it difficult to shop for items meeting their requirements. Both sites let you search for keywords or product names, and both take suggestions for new products if they don't carry them. But the dearth of ingredient lists on most products means you might want to check out questionable items in the grocery store first, then take note of which brands you can buy and come back to get them at the Web store later.

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