With countless items available at our fingertips, Amazon has undoubtedly revolutionized the way our world shops. As of late, we can say Amazon has even revolutionized our eating. Numerous grocery store chains across the U.S. are now using online portals and apps, bringing the grocery shopping experience into the Amazon age. This integration of technology into the supermarkets can provide us with some critical advantages and ease our efforts to eat healthier. Grocery store chains like Stop & Shop, H-E-B, Jewel-Osco and even Walmart allow you to shop online for food in a few easy steps. First, you choose your shopping location so you’ll be able to view what is available at that very store. Then, you select the items and amounts you want and place them in your digital cart. The store then has employees whose sole responsibility is to fulfill your order and hand pick your items. Yes, they even pick the freshest produce options and can sometimes take your requests such as “one ripe and one semi-ripe avocado.” What a time to be alive! Upon submitting your order, you choose a pick-up time (or delivery time, in certain areas) that works best for you. And here’s one of the best parts: when you drive to the store to pick up your items, you may not even have to get out of the car. Some stores will bring your order right out to you. And with companies like Amazon Fresh and Instacart, you don’t even have to leave your home. In as little as one to two hours, they can bring your groceries straight to your door. This convenience is a huge time saver; instead of making a trip to the grocery store after work or on the weekends, you can easily place an order and have it ready to be picked up or sitting on your front step by the time you get home. This prevents the temptations and impulse purchases that come with grocery shopping while hungry and tired after work, thus helping you have healthier options at home. Additionally, most apps will save your past orders making it easy to remember what items you need to restock and preventing you from forgetting some of your staples. This may be a helpful reminder to add those apples and bananas to your cart again for this week’s snacks. Grocery shopping in this way also makes trying new recipes less daunting, as you are taking away the part where you search the aisles endlessly for ingredients you’ve never purchased before. All this time saving leaves space and energy for things like meal prep, exercise, and more time to relax after work and on the weekends. Saving yourself an extra errand on the way home from work may also increase the likelihood that you decide to use your conveniently delivered groceries to make dinner instead of ordering takeout – an option that is better for your wallet and waistline. Speaking of wallets, there is a small price that comes with this convenience. Some apps have a charge for delivery and most apps have the option to tip your shopper – a nice way to thank your perfect avocado picker! This seems like a small price to pay for such a large convenience. Learn more about ways to plan healthier meals and other wellness programs offered by Wellness Workdays.
Written by: Brandon Zuercher, Wellness Workdays Dietetic Intern.
Sources:
1. Amazon Fresh
2. Instacart