Peapod Grocery Delivery

My review of Peapod, a grocery delivery company, began as a Facebook Status.  It went a little something like this:

Dear PeaPod: I love you. I mean a lot. I don’t want to make you feel awkward or anything, but I think I want to marry you and have your delivered-by-5pm-the-next-day babies.

Never did I imagine that I would be the person signing the praises of grocery delivery – especially in a forum as sacred as Facebook – but I have truly become a Peapod fan.  In the Northeast Peapod is associated with Stop and Shop; however, they are available in many parts of the country through other grocers.  If you log onto their website –  HYPERLINK “http://www.peapod.com” www.peapod.com - they will refer by zip code.

I decided to try Peapod several weeks ago in the midst of what has been one of the busiest times of our lives. We barely have a moment to sit down, never mind a couple of hours to go grocery shopping.  Here’s what I love about it – it is one of the most organized and efficient ways I can think to shop.  If I am looking to save money, I click on a tab that shows me everything that’s on sale that week.  I can click on another tab and see only the store brand items, or only the organic items, etc. etc.  I can shop by department, by brand, by price – there are numerous ways to organize your shopping.  I can think about my family’s meals for the week, look at my virtual shopping cart and with a click add or subtract things in a second.  It allows me the time to think about what I’m buying and compare prices, brands and products in a quiet way, which is better than circus that a shopping trip can become.   You can even create standard shopping lists that Peapod saves, so with one click you can order all your “regular” items.

There is a delivery fee, but I find it’s minimal for the service, and by being able to scope out all the deals, I’m saving far more than I’m spending.  Plus, Peapod accepts coupons; you present them to the driver when your groceries are delivered.  I was concerned about the quality of the produce, but I think they know that this is a crucial factor in home delivery because the produce was better than what I might have picked!

The only downside, thus far, is product variety and availability.  Depending on what you’re looking for, there’s not as great a selection as what you might have in a grocery store.  The other issue – although it’s not really an issue to me – is product substitution.  If you order a product, say blueberries, and they’re out they will substitute another product, say blackberries, at the same price.

There is no substitution, however, for one’s sanity.  Thankfully Peapod is helping preserve mine!