Yahoo Finance Grocery delivery vs. shop for yourself: How much you're paying for convenience
On Monday, Sobeys announced that it would be partnering with British firm Ocado to launch its own grocery delivery service.
It’s following in the footsteps of Loblaw, which launched Instacart in late 2017, and Longo’s, which has been delivering groceries via Grocery Gateway since 2004.
The convenience of having groceries delivered to your door is undeniable, but like all great conveniences in life, it’s assumed to come with a cost. This writer has done some of the legwork for you, and compared prices to give you an idea of just how much that convenience is costing you.
All prices were available at downtown Toronto store locations on Jan. 23, 2018 and online on the same day, to be delivered to the same downtown neighbourhood. I made a list of ten items that I buy on a weekly basis from my local grocery store, for comparison:
– 2L lactose-free milk
– 6-pack English muffins
– 1 dozen premium-brand eggs
– Cheerios
– Green seedless grapes (bagged)
– Bananas
– Baby spinach (5oz, organic)
– Lean ground beef
– Kraft Dinner
– Nature Valley Crunchy Granola Bars (Oats & Honey)
Sobeys won’t be launching their online store until 2020, so at this time, we only have in-store prices for that chain. Otherwise, here’s a complete list of what it cost for each of the items on my list through each of the shopping methods.
Delivery Fees
Since Sobeys is still at least two years away from their delivery service, their delivery fees are unknown.
Grocery Gateway charges a $9.99 delivery fee (plus HST) for residential orders, and the fee may change during specific delivery windows.
Instacart delivery fees vary depending on the size of order and the time of the delivery. They start at $3.99 (plus a 7.5 per cent service fee), and will increase during Busy Pricing periods. Instacart Express members get free delivery on orders over $35 and don’t pay busy pricing (membership is $99 annually or $9.99/month).
Of course it isn’t free to go and pick up the groceries yourself (unless you’re walking). Since these three grocery stores are all accessible via the Toronto Transit System, let’s add $6.00 to each in-person store(the cost of a TTC fare is $3, so $6 covers travel to and from the store). Costs vary if you opt to drive instead, especially if you’re paying for parking at a downtown grocery store location.
Comparing Items
The most similar item (if the exact same brand wasn’t available) was selected at each location for each category. Items that were on sale are indicated in red. Online stores listed weights in kilograms, they were converted to pounds to enable like-for-like comparisons.
Longo’s | Grocery Gateway | Loblaws | Instacart | Sobeys | |
Milk | $5.59 | $5.99 | $6.29 | $6.55 | $6.19 |
English Muffins | $2.99 | $2.99 | $2.19 | $2.25 | $0.99 |
Eggs | $2.89 | $2.99 | $3.69 | $4.15 | $3.79 |
Cheerios | $4.99 | $4.99 | $3.99 | $5.45 | $4.89 |
Grapes | $4.49/lb | $5.00/lb | $4.49/lb | $4.50/lb | $4.99/lb |
Bananas | $0.79/lb | $0.89/lb | $0.69/lb | $0.69/lb | $0.79/lb |
Spinach | $4.99 | $5.49 | $5.00 | $6.00 | $4.99 |
Ground Beef | $6.00/lb | $5.49/lb | $7.40/lb | $8.25/lb | $8.00/lb |
Kraft Dinner | $1.69 | $1.79 | $1.49 | $1.79 | $1.79 |
Granola Bars | $3.49 | $3.49 | $3.29 | $3.25 | $1.99 |
Grocery Bill Total | $37.91 | $39.11 | $38.52 | $42.88 | $38.41 |
Delivery/Transit Fee | $6.00 | $9.99 | $6.00 | $7.20 | $6.00 |
Grand Total | $43.91 | $49.10 | $44.52 | $50.08 | $44.41 |
Final Verdict
So, what’s the price of convenience? About $5-$6, for this grocery list, when you include the delivery fees. But even before delivery, you’re paying about $2-$4 more for having the same food available in store delivered to your door.
Yahoo Canada Finance readers, do you use a grocery delivery service? Do you feel the price justifies the convenience? Vote in our poll, and share your thoughts in the comments!
