How to avoid paying too much while doing your grocery shop online

Wednesday, 9 March 2022

The Commerce Commission insists supermarket reforms it is recommending will make a difference.

Marketing tactics by supermarkets and manufacturers could mean you’re paying more for your online shop than you should be.

Head of marketing at Auckland University's Business School Bodo Lang said consumers “need to be on their toes” to avoid paying too much for groceries.

“Most consumers spend very little time making their decisions and thus often may pay too much,” he said.

Here are five ways you can save on your online grocery shop.

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Protex soap features the 'sponsored’ tag on Countdown's online store.

Scroll past the first page

Manufacturers usually pay extra for an eye-level shelf at the supermarket, and now they can do the same for a position on the first page of Countdown's online shopping website.

Eagle-eyed online shoppers will notice the small “sponsored” tag on photos of some products, meaning the manufacturer has paid to have them presented to you at the start of your search results.

A Countdown spokeswoman said a sponsored tag was an online marketing promotion for suppliers, introduced last year..

“Sponsored tags secure products increased visibility on our online shopping platform,” she said.

Bodo Lang says consumers need to be “on their toes” to avoid paying too much for groceries online.

Countdown uses its marketing tool, Cartology, to place sponsored product on the first page of search results.

About 90 per cent of all customers don't make it past the first page of search results.

Search and sort products by category

If you are truly after the cheapest product, sorting products within one category by price can be an effective way to find the cheapest option, Lang said.

There were more than 10 million product searches on Countdown’s website each month, according to Countdown's website.

Stocking up on products when on special can help save money.

About 70 per cent of Countdown online shoppers used the site search function while shopping.

It will narrow down the search to one single product, such as milk, and provide all the different brands and prices to help customers chose the best one.

Compare unit prices

But sorting products by price within a category did have limitations because products could come in different sizes, Lang said. A cheaper price did not always mean the best value.

“To get around this, shoppers should use unit pricing that is, per 100 millilitre or per 100 gram prices, rather than the prices for a whole product.'

These are sometimes displayed, but also sometimes not.

The Commerce Commission’s report into grocery retailing has recommended making this unit pricing mandatory.

If unit prices are not displayed, doing a quick calculation on one’s smartphone can make short work of this, Lang said.

He warned that shoppers would still need to ensure they were getting quality products if they were always choosing the cheapest option.

“The cheapest product may have less of the ingredients shoppers really want in their product.”

An example is cheaper jam, which often has a lower fruit content and higher added sugar content, which makes it nutritionally and taste-wise an inferior product.

Countdown offers a delivery subscription.

Stock up when you notice a deal

“If there are specials available, then it may be worthwhile stocking up on that product, if the price truly is lower than what it is usually being sold for,' Lang said.

A downside was that some items have product limits on them as stock supplies have dwindled during the Omicron outbreak.

Seek out the supermarket with the best food and delivery prices

The beauty of supermarket shopping online is it can all be done from the comfort of your own home.

Don't be afraid to go on to each supermarket's website and fill your cart, then compare the prices of your trolley at each supermarket.

Countdown's delivery saver subscription gives customers unlimited deliveries for only $23 per month, equivalent to $5.30 a week, compared to $14 for a one-off delivery.

With a six-monthly delivery saver you pay $118, compared to $364 if you ordered a delivery a week and paid for delivery separately each time.

Picking up your order in-store is also an option too, and pickups are free for orders over $50 - while orders under $50 cost $5 to pick up.

For orders under $199 New World offers delivery for $15. It charges $10 for orders more than $200, while click and collect costs $5 no matter the order value.

Pak N’ Save only offers click and collect, with a service fee of $5, whatever the value of the order is.