I
recently poised a few questions in regards to the benefits of home grocery
delivery. The article that sparked my interest in writing this blog was called,
“Why Amazon Is Happy Breaking Even with Online Grocery”, published on Forbes Magazine website. Author Tom Ryan
informs us that Amazon, an e-commerce company that sells and delivers consumer
products to our doorstep nationwide, began an online grocery business called
AmazonFresh. The company has been in the
online grocery business since 2007 serving only the Seattle market and will
soon be expanding its grocery delivery to Los Angeles in June and to San
Francisco in October. Ryan notes that Amazon feels that since there is already an
existing market for groceries and if Amazon currently delivers consumer products
to your doorstep, why not add groceries to the delivery list.
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| An Amazon Fresh truck in Seattle Flickr, CC |
After
reading this article by Tom Ryan, I wondered if this concept could actually
work. Would people take advantage of this concept and do their grocery shopping
online as they do with other types of shopping?
I
found another article on this topic by Maria Godoy, “Amazon’s Grocery Delivery:
A Trojan Horse to Get in Your Door, which was published on the internet in The Salt. This author states that Amazon
had years of testing the AmazonFresh concept. Godoy interviews Justin
Bomberowitz, a senior analyst with RetailNet Group, and he states that, “The
service is designed to deliver "ultimate convenience" and includes
features like no minimum order, pre-dawn delivery (the most popular option) and
the ability to choose the time when your food shows up.”
After
reading this article by Godoy, I realized that people could have the freedom of
ordering the groceries online for the meals they intend to make for the week
and have them delivered anytime they are home. It seems to be less hectic then
figuring out where to go out to eat. Imagine having all the ingredients for the
recipe you intend to make. Imagine always having something to cook for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
The thought of taking your time and focusing on what you
really need to eat instead of frivolous food that you do not need. Everything
is well planned out.
When
I compare these two articles by Ryan and Godoy, I find that I still question the
overall shopping experience and the freshness of the food being delivered. In
my next blog, I will find information through market trends on the benefits of grocery
shopping at a grocery store versus the benefits of ordering groceries
online. I will also look into how fresh
food would be delivered to your doorstep.
Works Cited
Ryan,
Tom “Why Amazon Is Happy Breaking Even With Online Grocery.” Forbes (2013) Web. 1
May 2013.
Godoy,
Maria “Amazon’s Grocery Delivery: A Trojan Horse to Get in Your Door.” NPR The
Salt (2013) Web. 5 June 2013
This is a very good and current topic of choice. I did now that some local grocery stores delivered groceries, but thats pretty much all I know about this topic. This blog is very interesting because it's a topic I wouldn't have thought up so many questions for and it also something that centers on everyday life. I'm excited to see what answers you find, and what other questions are brought up.
ReplyDeleteThanks for including the citations for these sources, but I am sure they are both available online so you should also include links. (I can show you how to do this in class.)
ReplyDeleteThe idea of buying from groceries from Amazon seems weird to me. Why would I want to buy food from the same company that I buy movies and books from? Do we really want giant companies that offer ALL of our consumer goods? What about small, local, and specialty shops? Also, how does Amazon deliver produce? Is it fresh? Or, are they limited to packaged/processed food, which is of course not as healthy?
Did you find out what the delivery costs are for these groceries? How much extra would someone in Seattle pay for having Amazon deliver his/her groceries, versus going to a store like King Spooers on his/her own?
I think this is an interesting topic. I have thought about having groceries delivered to save time and because I hate driving. The reasons I decided not to, were 1. because it's a delivery service and I would feel obligated to give a tip and 2. because I like to choose my own meat and produce and I was worried if it was delivered I might stuck with yucky over-ripe stuff. I see what English 121 Prof. is saying about whether we want giant companies that offer ALL the consumer goods but on the other hand, we already do. Walmart is overtaking the world. I can go there and get my hair done, my nails done, my oil changed and tires rotated, my eyes checked, groceries and have lunch. I do find it convenient but at the same time I stick with King Soopers because of their Sooper Card deals and discounts on gas. I think you did a good job on your blog. I kind of wish I would have taken this class in the classroom because I feel like I might have understood better than I really did. (My blog wasn't as good as yours)
ReplyDeleteWhat do you think about grocery delivery thus far? Would you try it?