Christmas is the time to get your balance of online and in person shopping just right, if you haven't already.
If I were to have my way, I would be inclined to do away with shopping in person altogether, except on weekends and at open air markets or bijou chocolate or cheese shops.
After all, picking up a tub of soup and a packet of Maltesers at 9pm under the Guantanamo-esque glare of supermarket lighting is never going to be a good look.
That said, there are many failures of the wonder that is online grocery shopping. It is, of course, much nicer to be able to test your own tomatoes with a quick squeeze, instead of receiving a bag of over-ripe red pulp on your doorstep. And having an online supermarket warehouse packer replace your “out of stock” wine with a “similar item” you wouldn’t normally have in the house is exasperating.
Indeed, in an ideal world, where we had all day, every day to browse farmers’ markets, cross town to visit specialist shops and gossip with the butcher while he debones and rolls the shoulder joint, shopping in person would win hands down over online, because you can trust yourself to pick the just-right produce.
But time is time and modern technology is a gift not a curse – so yoke it up to your festive shopping needs.
Christmas is the time to get your balance of online and in person shopping just right, if you haven’t already.
First of all, consider which things don’t need your personal attention each time you buy them, but do make up part of your regular shop: any branded stuff you’ve tried before and booze, milk and bread etc, going right through to the hardier perishables: carrots, potatoes, onions, parsnips.
Do be careful, though, with anything which must look perfect, such as an iced cake, unless it’s from a very reputable shop you already know will deliver with care.
Don’t balk immediately at delivery charges. If you went out to the shops, you’d have to pay for transport and risk trolley fights in crowded aisles, so they’re usually worth the pennies.
All supermarkets have their own systems in place for delivery slots, and it’s worth working out NOW when the Christmas slots become available. Just like turkeys on shelves on Christmas Eve, the battle for those 7am Christmas week deliveries are much less nasty under the cover of one’s computer screen.
For the rest of the year, shopping online for your basics then popping out once or twice a week for a bit of what you fancy also makes sense.
Don’t think your tiny favourite specialist shop won’t have a website or deliver, because this is almost a prerequisite for surviving as a business. Which means you can order in the interesting cuts of meat you can’t buy locally, and other unusual items and even, ok I admit it, those wonderful hard-to-find chocolates and cheeses.