If you could, would you shop online for your every day essentials?

No, because of the cost of shipping. I don't have to worry about gas -- I buy a bus pass every month. Also the time it takes for shipping is also an issue -- if I need something today, I don't want to wait a week for it to get shipped. Besides, it's good exercise to have to lug backpacks full of stuff, and when one is at the grocery, one often notices interesting new stuff in the store that might not get noticed if one just orders the same old things from an online list.

I only shop online for items not available in my area.

Absolutely - for everything you mentioned and more, if I could figure out how fast I go through things I'd never step foot in another store in my lifetime.

Not stuff like that. The grocery store is 2 minutes away. I buy most everything else online though.

No. I think most of these things actually are available online, but sometimes you have to pay a lot for shipping.

No not without a credit card could not do this

No

I think for homebound people, the option for the home service is wonderful. Our store is only moments away, no need...yet.

No, you must do some things for yourself.

I already do, in part. I've been ordering groceries on-line from Freshdirect.com, and have gotten some things like toilet paper as part of my orders.

No. My reasons:

o Grocery shopping is good for me. It gets me out in the world a little. It's not something I want to change/fix.
o I don't really like getting a lot of deliveries. There are a number of potential problems with that (having to be home, mistakes, damage, etc.).

No - even if I could. I far prefer the face to face stuff and shopping generally.

No, I like to be out and touch things, andd smell things. I ike to drive to the store and talk to other human beings.

What if you had free shipping?

I would if I didn't have to pay for shipping, and if I could get it the same day, like with pizza.

I can do that laready, through the wonder that is tesco.com.

But I don't. I like any excuse to get time to myself and shopping for everyday essentials is justifiable

Yeah, I know sometimes the vitamin catalogs and others I get promise free shipping. Sometimes they have a minimum order limit though. If I want something bad enough I will put up with the shipping. I think it's mostly that when I need something ordinary that I can get locally for approximately the same price, I just don't want to wait for it.

I believe in "face to face" commerce. I also believe one of the reasons the world seems to be falling financially is that most don't have to look into eachothers eyes anymore if something rotten goes down. Imagine if a person did something that didn't serve another that the first person would have to look a whole tribe of people in the eye and be cast as a renegade or work hard for atonement. To look into another's eyes is to see yourself.

You already can do that. I technically don't have to go grocery shopping, but I still do.

Pack up the kids, get in the car, fight traffic, weave through aisles of people, wait in line, punch in some numbers, take receipt, push cart through parking lot while keeping kids near, pack the trunk, strap kids in, fight traffic, bring groceries inside, put them away <----?----> sit in chair, go to website, select groceries, punch in some numbers, wait, wait some more... greet delivery person @ door, take groceries, tip, put groceries away.

hmmm, tough choice.

I already shop online for many of these. I tend to only buy perishables (meat, vegetables, dairy products etc) from the store.

Yeah, I think it's the future of shopping.

I do like to explore ecclectic shops in person though. I'd also rather pick out my own fruit, veggies, and flowers.

I agree with all the adventure and social contact comments, but as far as fuel efficiency goes, deliveries make more sense. Grocery shopping is the main reason most people can't part with a car. If we could improve shipping methods, we could do without large stores at all, and a can of peas or television would go direct from factory to consumer, perhaps even ordered before actually produced. RFID tags would sort it all, the USPS would provide returnable crates with bags of aerosol rice foam packing which consumers can liquefy and return. Eventually labels too will be replaced by TV animations on the shipping crates which get uploaded to the screen on your cabinets or fridge.

Yeah, I can agree with that. I need to go multiple times to stores to stock up because I have my backpack, my feet and the bus to rely on - and I've never been to one of those big-box stores like Costco - I definitely don't shop in bulk. I hope shipping will get faster and more hassle-free in the near future. It's also a drag when UPS or one of those shippers tries to ship to an apt. building because it's likely no one is home at the time, even the manager. So they leave a notice. Then they don't come when they say they will on the notice, so finally they either just leave it outside the building (since unlike the postperson they can't get inside the lobby), or I have to go out of my way to pick it up and lug it home on the bus. I've been fairly lucky in that most of the time they leave it and a neighbor brings it in or else no one steals it before it gets to me if it's left outdoors.

I had hassles back when our bldg gates were locked. Mostly things are just left at my door these days while I'm asleep, which is fine with me. I do lots of eBay. I do buy in bulk, and now have to build a new bike basket to replace the one tre tree trimmers crushed. I once carried 21 bags of groceries home on my bike. If something I eat regularly, like canned pineapple, goes on sale I'll buy a case.

Forty years ago there was usually someone home. Minus the gender bias, that would be good for our economy and social life today as well.

I think ahead, and am usually annoyed when eBayers only have Priority as an option. I have no need to pay extra for jet planes. The could ship it by solar derigible or sail-train for all I care.

From what I've heard, Europeans have it way more together with returnable shipping packaging and such.

Good for you, riding a bike!

Fair enough. but if u could have your items set up in a system to automatically be shipped to your house just about the same time you are running out of that product. then you would have more free time instead of spending time at the store.

Yeah, true, but the delivery system itself is a problem. There's often nobody home in my apt. building. UPS and the other shippers like this do not have a key so they can't get in the lobby of the building like the mailperson does. So they are obliged to leave one of those stickies that may or not blow off the door as there's not enough stickum on it. The person comes home and finds the sticky and no package, so no delivery that day. Sometimes UPS and the others do not deliver when they say they will the next time, so there's no use waiting for them. The manager of the building is often not home either to take the package for the tenant. The delivery person tries to notify via hookup outside to one's phone. I no longer have a phone so even if I'm home at the time this doesn't work. So I leave a note on the sticky to leave the package the next time outside the front door of the apt. building. Providing no one steals it, this is a good idea except for the several days' delay. Sometimes neighbors will bring in a package that's left outside and that's cool. Even the mailperson feels obligated to leave a notice sometimes even though they can just leave a package in the lobby and the person will find it when they get home, or someone will even take it up to their front door for them. Then too I actually don't really mind spending time at the stores anyway because I like the groceries where I mainly shop, Whole Foods and Trader Joe's, and in these places it's not really that much of a chore for me. Except I never have much money so can't get a lot of stuff at one time - no bulk buying for me. So I do run out of things a lot.

It would be tempting if I had somewhere to store bulk-buys and there was someone around to receive deliveries.

Probably not.