The Simply Her team susses out online grocers to see which ones make the mark. BY AMANDA JAYNE LEE.
The Simply Her team susses out online grocers to see which ones make the mark. BY AMANDA JAYNE LEE.
SIMPLY HER EDITOR’S RAVE
REDMART www.redmart.com.
Delivery times: Nine two-hour slots, daily, 10am-10pm.
Delivery charges: $7 for each delivery; free delivery for orders above $49.
Browsing and ordering: The categories in each section made it easy to find what I needed from its wide range of products – from fresh food to beauty items, household accessories and an exceptional range of pet food. I appreciated how there was an orange label on the side of the page for the fresh foods that indicated when the next batch would be available for delivery. The only downside: It took a while for images to load on screen.
Delivery: The delivery man arrived and left before I could instruct him to leave the groceries with my neighbours. But a quick call to the service centre rectified that, and my groceries were re-delivered an hour later.
The goods: Everything was packed neatly in separate plastic bags – meat came cold and fresh, frozen fish fillets and ice cream were still rock solid, baby spinach was crisp, and the snacks and 6kg bag of dog food I ordered all arrived in good condition.
Verdict: Great for last-minute shopping. Orders arrive as early as the day after you place them.
– Amanda Jayne Lee, consumer and lifestyle writer. 9.
GOFRESH www.gofresh.com.sg.
Delivery times: Two three-hour slots, daily, 2-9pm.
Delivery charges: $15 for each delivery; free delivery for orders above $60.
Browsing and ordering: Gofresh offers a variety of fresh foods, produce, stocks and sauces. I liked the range of uncommon items such as different types of basil. The deli selection also went beyond the usual honey-baked ham.
While shopping on the site, I found it was best to use the search function to look for what I wanted as the categories are messy. Items are listed in alphabetical order instead of type, which makes it tough to browse.
It was hit-or-miss with the search function though: When I typed in “carrots”, I got frozen diced carrots, fresh carrots and a slew of other products likes pork collar, corn and frozen veal stock!
Delivery: The three-hour-block delivery timings meant I had to arrange for someone to be home for a longer stretch to await delivery. I opted for the 6-9pm block but my delivery arrived at 5pm instead. Luckily, there was someone at home.
The goods: When I arrived home a few hours later, the food in the Styrofoam box was still cold. In general, food was fresh, but one of the carrots I ordered had a split through it.
Verdict: It’s a great place to shop for a party. It has a good gourmet selection with items not commonly found in supermarkets, and food comes in pre-packed bundles.
– Penelope Chan, editor. 7.
SIMPLY HER GREAT FIND.
HONESTBEE www.honestbee.com.
Delivery times: 11 one-hour slots, daily, 11am-10pm.
Delivery charges: $10 for each delivery; free delivery for orders above $50 for each store.
Browsing and ordering: Honestbee shops on your behalf at different stores, such as Fairprice, Cold Storage, Watsons, Pet Lovers Centre, Jones the Grocer and more. The website also offers ready-made food and desserts from Gastronomia.
I liked that it sent a personal shopper to pick the items at each store for me, but if you want to order from multiple stores, you have to spend a minimum of $30 for each store or pay an extra $10. The wide range of stores also meant there was a smaller variety of items from each.
Ordering from the website was easy enough, but product images were blur and some items lacked descriptions so I had to stick to products I was familiar with.
Delivery: There was a good range of delivery timings to choose from, and I could even cancel two hours before my scheduled delivery time with no penalty.
The goods: The papaya and avocados I ordered were still a little unripe, but the leafy vegetables were very fresh. I appreciated that the glass prawns came with a bag of ice beside them.
Verdict: The personal-shopper touch makes it a good service to use when you want items from a particular store, but don’t want to make a trip all the way there.
