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Online Shopping: Grocery Stores Offer More Than Just Staples

Buying groceries on the Web is a terrific, though possibly endangered, convenience.

James A. Martin, special to PCWorld.com

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This Way to the Checkout Line

Like so many other online experiences, grocery shopping isn't perfect. But for those who can get the service and use it, online supermarkets provide a marvelous convenience. Shopping online saves an enormous amount of time and effort, though it doesn't mean you'll never venture inside a supermarket again. The biggest problem for users of these services right now is their potential disappearance.

Despite my fervor for Web grocers, I still venture inside a supermarket about once a week to pick up miscellaneous items that either the online store doesn't carry or aren't worth a full order. But now, because I know I'll be checking out in the fast-moving ten-items-or-less line, I'm more inclined to take my time, explore the aisles, and enjoy myself--something I never did when the grocery store was my only option.

Where Are the Stores?

By now, you're probably curious about the Web grocer that's set up shop in your neighborhood. We've compiled a list of the largest ones, though you might be able to find one or two more in search directories. Remember that just because a Web grocer has a presence in your area, it doesn't mean you live within its delivery area. Be sure you check where it delivers on the grocer's site.

  • GrocerOnline ships its products via FedEx to the lower 48.

  • GroceryWorks.com delivers in Dallas/Fort Worth, Houston, and Austin.

  • HomeGrocer.com (a subsidiary of Webvan) delivers in Dallas/Fort Worth; Los Angeles; Orange County, California; Portland, Oregon; San Diego; and Seattle.

  • HomeRuns delivers groceries to the kitchens of shoppers in the Boston and Washington, D.C., areas with its own fleet of vans.

  • LatinGrocer ships a wide variety of hard-to-find Latin American specialty items nationwide via the U.S. Postal Service.

  • NetGrocer.com delivers anywhere in the continental United States via FedEx.

  • PDQuick serves Los Angeles and Orange County, California.

  • Peachtree Network is a network of local grocers providing delivery in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Washington, D.C.; Chicago; Oklahoma City; New York City; Buffalo, New York; and many major Canadian cities.

  • Peapod serves Boston; Chicago; Fairfax County, Virginia; Fairfield County, Connecticut; Long Island, New York; Montgomery County, Maryland; San Francisco; and Washington, D.C.

  • PopGrocer.com delivers within Manhattan and to select neighboring areas of New Jersey.

  • Webvan serves Atlanta; Chicago; Sacramento, California; and San Francisco.

PC World contributing editor James A. Martin doesn't get out of the house enough.

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