October 2006
Beyond books: Amazon.com for groceries
Reader surveys conducted by Consumer Reports National Research Center have shown Amazon.com to be one of the best sources for low-priced books, home electronics, and
most recently, small appliances. Now, the Internet giant is selling groceries. In July, Amazon launched an online supermarket
featuring more than 1,200 brands and 14,000 packaged food and nonfood items, sweetening the deal with free ground shipping
for orders over $25.
You browse by category (breakfast food, for instance), product (cereal), brand, or price, or type the product’s name in the search field for faster results. Checking out takes seconds once you set up an account linked to a credit card.
The service is convenient, and you have access to national brands and a wide assortment of fancy and organic products you won’t find at all brick-and-mortar markets. But there’s a catch. Most products are sold in multipacks--12 single-serve containers of Kraft macaroni and cheese, for example, or a dozen cans of Wolfgang Puck chicken noodle soup. If you have a large family, plenty of storage space, share an order, or are new parents and want to stock up on diapers and baby food, Amazon.com may make sense.
Amazon’s prices are competitive but not always lowest. It charged 9 percent less than Pathmark for 24 cans of Progresso canned tuna (the required minimum), 7 percent less for seven boxes of Wheaties, and 13 percent less for three containers of Taster’s Choice Instant Coffee. A&P was 33 percent cheaper for Orville Redenbacher Movie Theater Popcorn, which was on sale.
With free ground shipping, your order should arrive in five to seven days, says Tracy Ogden, a company spokeswoman. For $79 per year, you can become an Amazon Prime member, which means free two-day shipping. Overnight delivery is an option, but the cost can erase any savings.
You browse by category (breakfast food, for instance), product (cereal), brand, or price, or type the product’s name in the search field for faster results. Checking out takes seconds once you set up an account linked to a credit card.
The service is convenient, and you have access to national brands and a wide assortment of fancy and organic products you won’t find at all brick-and-mortar markets. But there’s a catch. Most products are sold in multipacks--12 single-serve containers of Kraft macaroni and cheese, for example, or a dozen cans of Wolfgang Puck chicken noodle soup. If you have a large family, plenty of storage space, share an order, or are new parents and want to stock up on diapers and baby food, Amazon.com may make sense.
Amazon’s prices are competitive but not always lowest. It charged 9 percent less than Pathmark for 24 cans of Progresso canned tuna (the required minimum), 7 percent less for seven boxes of Wheaties, and 13 percent less for three containers of Taster’s Choice Instant Coffee. A&P was 33 percent cheaper for Orville Redenbacher Movie Theater Popcorn, which was on sale.
With free ground shipping, your order should arrive in five to seven days, says Tracy Ogden, a company spokeswoman. For $79 per year, you can become an Amazon Prime member, which means free two-day shipping. Overnight delivery is an option, but the cost can erase any savings.
