Grocery shopping is a chore 60 percent of us dislike. From hunter for a parking space to waiting in long checkout lines, the entire experience, which on average requires 66 minutes, often is tiring and frustrating. But this task does not have to be so taxing. In fact, it can get quick and efficient by using a computer.
Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates predicts one third of all grocery shopping will be done with interactive devices such as computers and televisions by the year 2005. Consumers in Chicago and San Francisco already are shopping online with service called Peapod.
(Shelly, 176)
Here’s how Peapod works. A shopper uses custom software to select from more then 25,000 items, ranging from apples to zinnias, available in a local grocery or drug store. The customer can shop by product category (e.g. produce deli, meat/poultry), aisle (e.g. cereal and breakfast, ethnic foods), or specific items (e.g. reduced fat chocolate chip cookies).
A nutrition conscious shopper can query, or question, the database to display a picture of the product, view its nutritional label, and sort items by nutritional content. A price conscious shopper can instantly compare prices in the database to find the best deals. Buyers can create personal shopping lists of items frequently ordered, view previous orders, check subtotals at any time to say within budget, redeem manufacturer and electronic coupons and choose a delivery time.
Shoppers “go to the store” and select items on their computers. Drivers then bring the groceries to the consumer’s door for #35 per month. The driver accepts payment by cheque,
credit card, or automatic debit from a chequing account and even will return bags for recycling.: The software costs $29.95 and runs on IBM compatibles and Macintosh computers.
The service is marketed to three types of people: upscale two-income families with children, individuals with disabilities, and the elderly. Peapod users are unusually loyal, as “nearly 80 percent of the consumers who have tried the service keep using it.” (Shelly, 178)
Armchair choppers have traded their squeaky shopping cart and frazzled nerves for the comfort of shopping in a virtual supermarket contained in a computer database.
