Exactly 0% of this is sponsored, I promise you guys. Here’s the thing: I’m pregnant and Reese is 18 months. Which means grocery shopping used to be really fun and now it’s a bit more of a circus, and I’d rather not be in the ring. Also I get SPD when I’m pregnant, which makes pushing a shopping cart positively agonizing for me. Luckily I haven’t had it yet in this pregnancy, but I know it’ll rear it’s ugly head before long.

So a month ago when I was put on “moderate rest” and told to limit my activity and heavy lifting, I decided it was a great time to try out the online grocery ordering. I wanted to get it all figured out so that I can use it confidently through my white winter whale months of pregnancy. I figured it was best to try a few different places and then compare. I tweeted about it and had some questions so I thought “Yeah… I should probably share this!” Here we are.

I decided to do Walmart, Smith’s, and Macey’s. Walmart for obvious reasons – they’re everywhere, one of the first to offer this, and usually the biggest. Smith’s is where I usually do most of my grocery shopping. I like their rewards and coupons – super easy savings for a n00b like me. I don’t do Macey’s as much but I like it and I saw that they were doing online too. The Beard prefers Winco, but they only offer online ordering from their deli/bakery/bulk items. We use Harmon’s sometimes because The Beard works right next door to one so he can grab stuff on his way home, but their online ordering still requires you to go into the store… so what’s the point?

If I did this again I would be more scientific. My junior high science teachers would be horrified that I wasn’t using a controlled grocery order at 3 variable places. That’s the way they taught me, and this haphazard experiment is just laughing right in their faces. Still I feel I learned a lot and know a little better what to expect and how to do this the right way.

Overall: At all 3 places it was worth it. Ordering online is pretty bomb. Any of the issues I had were pretty minor, and in the end I still got my groceries without pushing a cart, loading Reese in and out of the car multiple times, and without standing in long checkout lines. One of the things I like best about it is that it ~really curtails my impulse shopping. I had to search each of the things I needed and put them in my cart, watching the total climb higher. It prevented me from walking by the baby section “just because” or meandering through the makeup “just to see.” I was much more mindful of how much I was buying and how expensive everything was. Just for the price comparison and intentional buying factors alone I think I would choose online ordering, because the benefits were for me pretty big.

I broke down the experience of ordering groceries into 3 parts: online ordering, the actual order & items, and pickup. I’ll go over how these parts worked at each store and then my final assessment of the individual stores at the bottom.

Online Ordering

Walmart – By far the best site. I could easily find anything I cared to search for. The thing I loved best about Walmart’s site is that prices are broken down by oz/unit/etc, so I can compare things like different sized containers of Diet Coke or compare multiple brands & packs of diapers. Is it cheaper to buy cans or 2 liters bottles? The 120 pack of Huggies or several 48 packs of Pampers? Stuff like that. They break down the price all the way. The pictures on all of the items were usually there and of a very good quality. They have a little heart button so you can mark down your usual grocery staples like milk, bread, Diet Coke, etc. and it will remember them for your next order.

Smith’s – Decent, functional site. ClickList was easy to use and was especially easy to navigate if you were looking for current sales. One thing I really liked about Smith’s is that it linked to my FreshValue account to earn me points, apply the paper coupons they’d mailed me in a digital version, and to show things I bought before (in store!) that were on sale or new. They also have additional digital coupons on their website that you can add to your card almost like Cartwheel for Target so that was cool.

Macey’s – Terrible site. It was actually pretty frustrating to use. They use a site/app called Rosie and I’m sure it’s still in beta or in early stages of development, so it’ll certainly get better.  The search capability in particular was SO BAD. I’m not kidding – I literally searched for ice cream and it returned no matches. So then I searched for vanilla and it brought up vanilla extract, vanilla scented sprays, vanilla cookies, and finally vanilla ice cream. And there were so many things that I straight up couldn’t find and I know it must be the site, because Macey’s has to carry Dr. Pepper and ant traps and Chobani yogurt, right? The one good thing that it had was their limited or weekly ad deals were present and indicated on the items, which I liked.

Order Fulfillment

Walmart – $30 minimum order, no pickup fee, and next day pickup. Right now they have a $10 code if you have a $50 minimum first time order (use code REALEASY) and if you use my referral link you and I both get $10 off our next orders too! Ok so for the actual groceries – I think there ended up being 3-4 items that they straight up did not have. The kid gave me a receipt of my order, consulted me about the 3-4 missing items, and had me sign a little electronic pad. I had typed in my card information online, but they didn’t charge me until after pickup and after removing the items they were unable to find or replace. I guess sometimes they will bring out a substitute and ask if you’d rather have that, but apparently there were no substitutes for what I was missing. It’s a little disappointing, especially if they’re things you really need, but it wasn’t that big of a deal. I got a few produce items and they were fine – but it was just berries and apples, which are usually fine so I can’t offer a valid assessment of their produce-choosing qualities.

Smith’s – No minimum order, $4.95 pickup fee (waived for your first 3 orders), and next-day pickup. I talked about coupons above, but if you shop there regularly and use your Smith’s FreshValue card you get a discount and have access to all of their coupons and sales. Smith’s was only missing one thing, despite it being a much bigger order than the Walmart or Macey’s orders, so that was really nice – and it was just something small and random. Didn’t even matter. They swiped my card once I got there, which was an extra step but it was fine. NBD. The only thing I didn’t like was that I bought more produce (mangoes, pears, and avocados) and they were all definitely rare and rock hard. I actually left feedback about it on their website. It’s fine; I’ll eat them next week when they eventually ripen. But I wish they had a way of asking how ripe you want them or indicating how ripe they’ll be. If you absolutely need ripe, edible produce then you may need to take care of that yourself.

Macey’s – $30 minimum order, $1.99 pickup fee, and can be same-day depending on when you order. Macey’s wasn’t missing a single thing on my order! I was even surprised when the guy just said “Have a nice day” and walked off, so I stopped him and said “Wait… there wasn’t anything missing?” and he looked at me like I was crazy. I got berries and apples again, which were ripe and good. The only fulfillment issue I had was that I ordered chicken thighs for The Beard to barbecue that night for the Utah game. They were frozen, which wasn’t indicated on the item online, and I picked them up about an hour before kickoff so he wasn’t able to barbecue them.

Pickup

Walmart – this experience was my first and nearly soured me on the whole experience, to be honest. I placed the order and set the time that worked with my schedule. I got an email confirmation saying I could pick up between 12-1 pm, how to get to the pickup zone, and the number to call when I arrived. I had stacked my errands that day and grabbed my lunch to go at 11:50 (Zaxby’s!), then drove straight to Walmart. I got there at 12:05, ready to pick up my groceries and head straight home to unload and eat my lunch. I called the number and the apparently 12 year old employee responded with hesitant ummmms and errrrrs that he “hadn’t called me yet” because my order wasn’t ready. Confused, I asked when it would be ready and he said he didn’t know but that they would call me. I scanned the email once again – at no point did it say “wait until we call you,” instead saying to arrive during that designated window. Very frustrated I returned home to eat my salad (eating healthy is the worst. I could have eaten a cheeseburger in the car no problem and just waited!). And per expectation I got a call from the 12 year old kid about 3 bites into my salad. I told him I had gone home to eat and that I’d be back in 15-20 minutes. “Well… yeah… I guess that’s ok. We can wait. That will work.” Oh YOU can wait? By the way this phone call was at 12:25. Meaning I could show up even 20 minutes later and still be within the window I’d scheduled. I wasn’t happy. Once we got there the groceries came right out and it was very fast, but at no point did the kid say “I’m sorry for the wait!” or show any kind of remorse or understanding. It’s fine – I’ll order from them again. But I’ll make sure not to do it on a day with a tight schedule, and I won’t go until they call and tell me it’s ready. Or I’ll just get a cheeseburger and an audiobook and chill until they get their act together.

Smith’s – the fastest! I think I waited like 1 minute after calling in. Also the most friendly! They came out with two kids, one to confirm my order and process my payment, while the other was loading groceries into my car. They also gave me a little thank you/gift bag with water, hand soap, granola bars, and coupons in it for my first order. I thought that was a really nice touch. They had very good customer service, and it was clear that this online ordering thing is a priority for them which they’re trying to develop.

Macey’s – Very fast. Not very friendly, but whatever I’m not there to make friends. They were super businesslike so that was nice. They also gave me a 10% off coupon, which I’ll probably use the next time I do a really bigMy only complaint with pickup was that the guy did kind of a sloppy job of loading my trunk. I was loading stuff into the backseat and didn’t notice, but then I made a slow, simple turn onto 800 N and I heard all of my groceries shift and clank and fall out of bags. I had to crouch at my bumper to catch items from falling when I got home to unload.

{IDK what etiquette is for this, but all 3 times I got out and helped them load the groceries because I’m a control freak and I also wanted to be as fast as possible. I didn’t tip them and I’m not sure if I should have? They didn’t really give me any opportunity or indication that I should have and everyone I’ve talked to hasn’t tipped them either. They all wore special vests or shirts for the online pickup, which leads me to believe that is their actual job/job title, and I assume at least part of the pickup fee is for loading. I am going to do more research and I’ll definitely tip them this winter when it’s cold, snowy, and I’m huge/pregnant/not getting out to help them.}

I am converted. I don’t think this will ever completely replace actual trips to the grocery store, but if those can be limited or passed off to The Beard because I got 90% of the stuff through online pickup… that’s gonna be a good life. I think I will probably continue using Smith’s as my main choice. The $4.95 fee doesn’t sound great, but I think I usually save much more than $5 by using my member discount and coupons when I have them. Walmart is closer and has the best selection, not to mention no fees, so I’m sure we’ll use that too. I’ll give Macey’s another try, if only to take advantage of that 10% off coupon.

I think online ordering is worth a try for anyone, so choose one of these and give it a whirl. Let me know if you have a notable experience or any tips for me, as I’m likely to be riding this train until I can take Baby Girl #2 into public in confidence. No word on when that will be.