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I've noticed that Amazon has totally changed my shopping habits from 3-5 years ago. Clothes and household expendable items are almost entirely purchased on Amaz

I've noticed that Amazon has totally changed my shopping habits from 3-5 years ago. Clothes and household expendable items are almost entirely purchased on Amazon (even if I just want to try on a pair of boots). Prime Subscription or Pantry takes care of most of the rest. I don't need to drive to Costco anymore or spend time walking around Wal-Mart. I look forward to the day when my Whole Foods order can be delivered fresh to my house every week.

jessedhillon 11y ago
> I look forward to the day when my Whole Foods order can be delivered fresh to my house every week. You can do this today with Instacart.
- thoughtpalette 11y ago
  Instacart has been awesome in Chicago.
  - enobrev 11y ago
    I've used Instacart in Seattle and Chicago and they've been fantastic. Although, I somewhat preferred Amazon Fresh in Seattle for the pre-6am delivery.
michaelgrosner2 11y ago
Have you tried Instacart or FreshDirect? (I believe FreshDirect only works in the NYC area)
- TomDavey 11y ago
  I'm in NYC, and I love Fresh Direct. I use Fresh Direct for the food, and Amazon for everything else. I feel guilty for not patronizing my local retail establishments, but the cumulative advantages of 1) huge inventory, b) rapid delivery, and c) competitive prices, makes the decision to prefer the online giants a no-brainer.
  - rickyc091 11y ago
    Have you tried Amazon Fresh? I use FreshDirect for work, but for my own personal groceries I've been using Amazon Fresh and I love it. I've done a price comparison between Trader Joes, Whole Foods, Amazon Fresh, Freshdirect. Seems Trader Joes still has the cheapest prices, but Amazon Fresh seems to beat FreshDirect. They delivery in person with 1 hr time slots and 3 hour windows for unattended delivery.
    - TomDavey 11y ago
      > Have you tried Amazon Fresh? I have not. To my embarrassment I didn't even know about it. But I checked it out and am going to give it a whirl. Thanks for the suggestion. Gotta love the low switching costs of the 'net. It's not that easy to switch your physical grocery store.
- dec0dedab0de 11y ago
  Fresh Direct is in South Jersey/Philly too, and I'm sure other area's, but it is so much more expensive than a normal supermarket. They're basically giving us NYC prices, and it's not worth the convenience. Also, a localish franchise ShopRite delivers with normal prices, and a $10-$20 fee.
gmac 11y ago
In the UK supermarket deliveries are well established. My family gets 2 or 3 Ocado deliveries a week (they have a Prime equivalent where you pay £11 a month to get free deliveries on orders over £40, within a one-hour time slot, usually available at about 24 hours' notice). Add that to Amazon, and I basically now only shop in shops when size/fit or feel are crucial — clothes, shoes, etc. And I really resent this — I'm trying to figure out the brands and sizes of jeans and so on that I can just reorder online as necessary, but shops screw this up by changing their ranges all the damn time. I feel like there must be a market opportunity there ...
- clarky07 11y ago
  So many places have great return policies, so it doesn't really matter anymore. There are places that specifically encourage you to buy like 2-3 pairs of shoes for example and ship back the ones that don't fit. If you are normally a size 10.5 shoe you can happily order 10/10.5/11 and then send the 2 that don't fit back for free. http://www.zappos.com/ http://www.zappos.com/ is a good example. free shipping both ways.
  - gmac 11y ago
    Good point, but I find there are 3 obstacles to this. 1) Many shoes (and most jeans too) don't fit me in whatever size — either the fit is more complicated than a simple scalar, and/or sometimes I'd need a size somewhere between two of the sizes offered. 2) Returns on the scale needed are thus generally a bit of a pain. 3) I suspect that the overhead of paying for lots of returns makes these services rather dear, and since I find jeans and shoes way overpriced anyway this puts me off. (This one is probably all in my head, but it's no less real for that). What I'd really like is a service where I could identify to it some clothes/shoes that fit me really well, and it could offer me a wide range of other clothes/shoes with a very similar fit. And isn't outrageously dear. (By all means, tell me this exists!).
    - tsotha 11y ago
      For me your #2 is the deal breaker. If I have to box a bunch of stuff back up and drop it off somewhere it's more hassle than shopping at a brick & mortar shoe store. There would have to be a huge price advantage to make it worthwhile.
Domenic_S 11y ago
> I don't need to drive to Costco anymore ...unless you care about price. Staples (detergent, drinks, etc) on Amazon easily cost 30% more than the comparable Costco purchase. I'm as lazy as the next guy, but I can't fill up that Pantry box without cringing at the prices, so off to Costco I go.
- rickyc091 11y ago
  Subscribe and save isn't too bad, but I agree, costco is definitely cheaper. Unfortunately in the metropolitan area without a car it's extremely difficult to get there. Have you guys checked out Boxed Wholesale? The prices are pretty comparable.
  - ghaff 11y ago
    I did a comparison to Walmart a while back and Amazon was definitely pricier for bulk goods/detergent/etc. And I have one close by that I can easily drive to. If I lived in a city without a car, the savings in hassle might be worth it but otherwise doing a few runs to a local big box store each year is pretty low on my list of tasks to eliminate.
    - _jal 11y ago
      At least in San Francisco, Costco offers Google delivery for a subscription fee. I don't remember what it cost, but it didn't seem absurdly out of line. I don't use that because I live three blocks from Costco and can just drop in for a couple of things, so I do usually just walk instead. Once every few months I rent a Zipcar to get huge bags of whatever home.
  - tw04 11y ago
    Legitimate question - do they pay their employees a living wage? What is the executive:average employee wage? Even if Costco were more expensive, I like to believe I'm helping our country out just by supporting a company that doesn't pay such a shit wage everyone collects welfare just to get by.
- xacaxulu 11y ago
michaelt 11y ago
Meanwhile in the UK, Ocado has offered same day grocery delivery since 2009, and Asda (who are owned by wal-mart) have offered it since 2013. http://www.thegrocer.co.uk/channels/supermarkets/ocado-teases-asda-over-same-day-order-launch/342800.article http://www.thegrocer.co.uk/channels/supermarkets/ocado-tease...
dustincoates 11y ago
> I've noticed that Amazon has totally changed my shopping habits from 3-5 years ago. Same here, especially with Amazon Fresh. In the 9 months since getting a Prime account, I spent 36% more overall than I did on Amazon from 2003-2013 combined.
- chrisper 11y ago
  Are you paying the $299 fee a year?
  - justinv 11y ago
    Fresh in Seattle was originally included in regular Prime (when purchasing >$50), so the habits of Seattle-ites may change after the price goes up to $299.
  - dustincoates 11y ago
    They haven't started charging yet--there's just a $50 minimum, which had been $30. They are rumored to start charging the fee this summer, but they were also rumored to start charging earlier in the year. Even if they do I'll keep paying. Because the cost of Prime is subtracted from that fee, plus I personally live in a grocery deadspot. I'm about a mile away from anything but a bodega or a high-end grocery store ($6 for half a gallon of milk type of place). Amazon Fresh has completely changed how I eat and how I often I cook.
supercanuck 11y ago
The one thing I like about Costco, is the lack of choice and the Kirkland Signature Private Label. Kirkland Signature is on par, if not better, than their name brand counter parts. Because they generally carry on SKU per category, the quality is generally very high.
- natemc 11y ago
  The KS Bacon is hit and miss. I'll get a package that is 75% great and then a package of razor thin bacon slices. We also had a quality issue with their Italian Style Meatballs, one batch had way more filler than usual, the kids wouldn't even eat them, it was like mush.
  - QuercusMax 11y ago
    You should email corporate and let them know. They take their quality and reputation very seriously. Worst case you'll probably get some free stuff.
drak0n1c 11y ago
Safeway already has a cheap online delivery system, replete with coupons and Safeway Member discounts.
natemc 11y ago
Amazon still doesn't have the selection that Costco does for some items. We mostly just buy frozen meats at Costco and then hit the local produce stand for fresh stuff to add for meals. I would love if Costco got onto the local delivery bandwagon for households.
whalesalad 11y ago
Instacart?
kw71 11y ago
I would like to say the same, because it sure sounds "convenient," but I have noticed that in most cases price comparisons work out in favor of physical stores. I know that a return trip to the shopping area of my town costs less than $3, and this is usually an activity that my family does together. We plan ahead to minimize time and effort spent shopping. I think Amazon is benefiting from the fact that most consumers are not conditioned to do this. Last year we bought a lot online from Amazon because they offered favorable pricing and transportation costs, but this year their share of our online purchases has been zero. We are not a big consumer of media and in fact many of the items I buy online now are not available from Amazon! For me, subscribing to Prime meant that I would feel obligated to buy more from Amazon, which does not make sense because of their pricing shenanigans. I never choose express transportation when shopping online anyway. I also don't see the point when a 10 minute trip to Dollar General will get me a household item for $2.50 that Amazon sold for almost $9 when I checked.
ajslater 11y ago
> 95% of my grocery shopping is done through http://instacart.com http://instacart.com

jessedhillon 11y ago

> I look forward to the day when my Whole Foods order can be delivered fresh to my house every week. You can do this today with Instacart.

thoughtpalette 11y ago
Instacart has been awesome in Chicago.
- enobrev 11y ago
  I've used Instacart in Seattle and Chicago and they've been fantastic. Although, I somewhat preferred Amazon Fresh in Seattle for the pre-6am delivery.

michaelgrosner2 11y ago

Have you tried Instacart or FreshDirect? (I believe FreshDirect only works in the NYC area)

TomDavey 11y ago
I'm in NYC, and I love Fresh Direct. I use Fresh Direct for the food, and Amazon for everything else. I feel guilty for not patronizing my local retail establishments, but the cumulative advantages of 1) huge inventory, b) rapid delivery, and c) competitive prices, makes the decision to prefer the online giants a no-brainer.
- rickyc091 11y ago
  Have you tried Amazon Fresh? I use FreshDirect for work, but for my own personal groceries I've been using Amazon Fresh and I love it. I've done a price comparison between Trader Joes, Whole Foods, Amazon Fresh, Freshdirect. Seems Trader Joes still has the cheapest prices, but Amazon Fresh seems to beat FreshDirect. They delivery in person with 1 hr time slots and 3 hour windows for unattended delivery.
  - TomDavey 11y ago
    > Have you tried Amazon Fresh? I have not. To my embarrassment I didn't even know about it. But I checked it out and am going to give it a whirl. Thanks for the suggestion. Gotta love the low switching costs of the 'net. It's not that easy to switch your physical grocery store.
dec0dedab0de 11y ago
Fresh Direct is in South Jersey/Philly too, and I'm sure other area's, but it is so much more expensive than a normal supermarket. They're basically giving us NYC prices, and it's not worth the convenience. Also, a localish franchise ShopRite delivers with normal prices, and a $10-$20 fee.

gmac 11y ago

In the UK supermarket deliveries are well established. My family gets 2 or 3 Ocado deliveries a week (they have a Prime equivalent where you pay £11 a month to get free deliveries on orders over £40, within a one-hour time slot, usually available at about 24 hours' notice). Add that to Amazon, and I basically now only shop in shops when size/fit or feel are crucial — clothes, shoes, etc. And I really resent this — I'm trying to figure out the brands and sizes of jeans and so on that I can just reorder online as necessary, but shops screw this up by changing their ranges all the damn time. I feel like there must be a market opportunity there ...

clarky07 11y ago
So many places have great return policies, so it doesn't really matter anymore. There are places that specifically encourage you to buy like 2-3 pairs of shoes for example and ship back the ones that don't fit. If you are normally a size 10.5 shoe you can happily order 10/10.5/11 and then send the 2 that don't fit back for free. http://www.zappos.com/ http://www.zappos.com/ is a good example. free shipping both ways.
- gmac 11y ago
  Good point, but I find there are 3 obstacles to this. 1) Many shoes (and most jeans too) don't fit me in whatever size — either the fit is more complicated than a simple scalar, and/or sometimes I'd need a size somewhere between two of the sizes offered. 2) Returns on the scale needed are thus generally a bit of a pain. 3) I suspect that the overhead of paying for lots of returns makes these services rather dear, and since I find jeans and shoes way overpriced anyway this puts me off. (This one is probably all in my head, but it's no less real for that). What I'd really like is a service where I could identify to it some clothes/shoes that fit me really well, and it could offer me a wide range of other clothes/shoes with a very similar fit. And isn't outrageously dear. (By all means, tell me this exists!).
  - tsotha 11y ago
    For me your #2 is the deal breaker. If I have to box a bunch of stuff back up and drop it off somewhere it's more hassle than shopping at a brick & mortar shoe store. There would have to be a huge price advantage to make it worthwhile.

Domenic_S 11y ago

> I don't need to drive to Costco anymore ...unless you care about price. Staples (detergent, drinks, etc) on Amazon easily cost 30% more than the comparable Costco purchase. I'm as lazy as the next guy, but I can't fill up that Pantry box without cringing at the prices, so off to Costco I go.

rickyc091 11y ago
Subscribe and save isn't too bad, but I agree, costco is definitely cheaper. Unfortunately in the metropolitan area without a car it's extremely difficult to get there. Have you guys checked out Boxed Wholesale? The prices are pretty comparable.
- ghaff 11y ago
  I did a comparison to Walmart a while back and Amazon was definitely pricier for bulk goods/detergent/etc. And I have one close by that I can easily drive to. If I lived in a city without a car, the savings in hassle might be worth it but otherwise doing a few runs to a local big box store each year is pretty low on my list of tasks to eliminate.
  - _jal 11y ago
    At least in San Francisco, Costco offers Google delivery for a subscription fee. I don't remember what it cost, but it didn't seem absurdly out of line. I don't use that because I live three blocks from Costco and can just drop in for a couple of things, so I do usually just walk instead. Once every few months I rent a Zipcar to get huge bags of whatever home.
- tw04 11y ago
  Legitimate question - do they pay their employees a living wage? What is the executive:average employee wage? Even if Costco were more expensive, I like to believe I'm helping our country out just by supporting a company that doesn't pay such a shit wage everyone collects welfare just to get by.
xacaxulu 11y ago

michaelt 11y ago

Meanwhile in the UK, Ocado has offered same day grocery delivery since 2009, and Asda (who are owned by wal-mart) have offered it since 2013. http://www.thegrocer.co.uk/channels/supermarkets/ocado-teases-asda-over-same-day-order-launch/342800.article http://www.thegrocer.co.uk/channels/supermarkets/ocado-tease...

dustincoates 11y ago

> I've noticed that Amazon has totally changed my shopping habits from 3-5 years ago. Same here, especially with Amazon Fresh. In the 9 months since getting a Prime account, I spent 36% more overall than I did on Amazon from 2003-2013 combined.

chrisper 11y ago
Are you paying the $299 fee a year?
- justinv 11y ago
  Fresh in Seattle was originally included in regular Prime (when purchasing >$50), so the habits of Seattle-ites may change after the price goes up to $299.
- dustincoates 11y ago
  They haven't started charging yet--there's just a $50 minimum, which had been $30. They are rumored to start charging the fee this summer, but they were also rumored to start charging earlier in the year. Even if they do I'll keep paying. Because the cost of Prime is subtracted from that fee, plus I personally live in a grocery deadspot. I'm about a mile away from anything but a bodega or a high-end grocery store ($6 for half a gallon of milk type of place). Amazon Fresh has completely changed how I eat and how I often I cook.

supercanuck 11y ago

The one thing I like about Costco, is the lack of choice and the Kirkland Signature Private Label. Kirkland Signature is on par, if not better, than their name brand counter parts. Because they generally carry on SKU per category, the quality is generally very high.

natemc 11y ago
The KS Bacon is hit and miss. I'll get a package that is 75% great and then a package of razor thin bacon slices. We also had a quality issue with their Italian Style Meatballs, one batch had way more filler than usual, the kids wouldn't even eat them, it was like mush.
- QuercusMax 11y ago
  You should email corporate and let them know. They take their quality and reputation very seriously. Worst case you'll probably get some free stuff.

drak0n1c 11y ago

Safeway already has a cheap online delivery system, replete with coupons and Safeway Member discounts.

natemc 11y ago

Amazon still doesn't have the selection that Costco does for some items. We mostly just buy frozen meats at Costco and then hit the local produce stand for fresh stuff to add for meals. I would love if Costco got onto the local delivery bandwagon for households.

whalesalad 11y ago

Instacart?

kw71 11y ago

I would like to say the same, because it sure sounds "convenient," but I have noticed that in most cases price comparisons work out in favor of physical stores. I know that a return trip to the shopping area of my town costs less than $3, and this is usually an activity that my family does together. We plan ahead to minimize time and effort spent shopping. I think Amazon is benefiting from the fact that most consumers are not conditioned to do this. Last year we bought a lot online from Amazon because they offered favorable pricing and transportation costs, but this year their share of our online purchases has been zero. We are not a big consumer of media and in fact many of the items I buy online now are not available from Amazon! For me, subscribing to Prime meant that I would feel obligated to buy more from Amazon, which does not make sense because of their pricing shenanigans. I never choose express transportation when shopping online anyway. I also don't see the point when a 10 minute trip to Dollar General will get me a household item for $2.50 that Amazon sold for almost $9 when I checked.

ajslater 11y ago

> 95% of my grocery shopping is done through http://instacart.com http://instacart.com