Grocery Shopping Online

If you have a computer and an internet connection, online grocery shopping is a convenient alternative to driving to the store and standing in line – especially with today’s high gas prices. In some cases, it’s even possible to save money shopping for groceries online.

Online grocery shopping can be a good value. When we compared prices for meat, poultry, frozen foods and household goods between Webvan, Peapod and a nearby Safeway, we found that while prices were slightly higher in some cases, so was the quality. When we removed the meat costs from the three bills, it was actually Safeway that emerged as the most expensive grocer. And as long as you buy a week’s worth of groceries online, you’ll likely exceed the minimum purchase requirements to avoid paying the delivery fee (Webvan $75, Peapod $100).

You likely swipe your debit card at the grocery store regularly, yet when you go grocery shopping online, that information is permanently stored in an online database. That makes it vulnerable to data breaches by hackers and insiders. Safe online shopping practices apply – that means never revealing your personal or financial information in the first place.

A free product called Shop Shield^® makes secure online grocery shopping possible. Shop Shield^® uses technology similar to an anonymous prepaid debit card, but it goes much further. Shop Shield^® also creates a substitute name, billing address and an anonymous email address for each transaction. If you plan to go grocery shopping online at the same web site frequently, make a reusable virtual credit card and store it in your user account at the online grocer’s web site. Shop Shield^® makes safe online grocery shopping easy and convenient.

Safe Shopping Online Features Include:

• Save time – a trip to the grocery store usually takes about 2 hours. Once you have a shopping list saved at the online grocery store’s web site, you can do all your online grocery shopping in about 15 minutes.
• Eat better – The quality of the meat and produce from online grocery stores is consistently superior to what you’ll find at most brick and mortar grocers.
• Save money – if you select products carefully, you can actually spend less money online grocery shopping that buying from a traditional grocery store.
• Less effort – If you live in an apartment or condo, you likely haul groceries up a set of stairs or in an elevator. Online grocery shopping has the added benefit of door to door delivery.
• Shop Securely – All good online grocery stores are SSL encrypted and protect your payment information while in transit. And using Shop Shield^® virtual credit cards to pay for your online grocery purchases means you never have to reveal your personal or financial information in the first place – so you’re protected against credit card fraud and identity theft.

Online Grocery Shopping is an Industry in Trouble

Like many other things on the Internet, grocery shopping online isn't perfect. But for those who can get the service and use it, online grocers provide a marvelous convenience. Shopping for groceries online saves an enormous amount of time and effort, though it doesn't mean you'll never set foot inside a supermarket again. The biggest problem for online grocery shoppers right now is the potential disappearance of online grocery stores.

Webvan, the largest online grocer, is under enormous pressure to turn a profit soon. Competitors Streamline.com and ShopLink recently ceased operations. Consolidations occur on a regular basis; Webvan acquired HomeGrocer.com this past summer, for instance. Peapod pulled out of several markets earlier this year and would have shut down entirely, had it not been for a $73 million cash transfusion from a Dutch grocery chain.

So if you like the idea of being able to go grocery shopping online, and an online grocery store servers your neighborhood, buy at least some of your groceries online – before it’s too late. Online grocery shopping is simply not succeeding because most of us are so entrenched in our habits that we don’t consider the option of buying groceries online.

And now, with the help of Shop Shield^® safe online grocery shopping is no longer a concern either. You can do all your grocery shopping online without leaving a trace. We found that using Shop Shield’s^® virtual credit cards is a great way of protecting all of your online purchases – it’s not just for online grocery shopping. Shop Shield^® even provides anonymous, disposable email addresses that can be deactivated at any time – so you never have to reveal your real email address to any web site. It then scrubs the incoming messages for phishing and viruses before forwarding them directly to your inbox. Why Should You Use Shop Shield^® for Safe Shopping Online?

So go ahead, give online grocery shopping a try. And sign up for Shop Shield^® – it’s free. You won’t regret either decision, and you’ll save time and money. What’s not to love?