Are you there yet, shopping for and ordering mostly everything you need online? Our get-it-tomorrow, or at least the-day-after culture comes ever closer to making hermits out of all of us. As much as we may try to resist, online retailers are making it easier every day.
This is certainly true of big-box items, clothing and basically every beauty item out there. Until recently, however, it was still harder to shop for certain things, especially certain foods online, but now that is changing, too. In addition to your obvious options with Amazon Pantry, there are smaller start-ups like Thrive Market that cater to health-conscious consumers looking for organic foods and other select goods in one location that delivers to your door.
Grab Your Phone and Your Virtual Shopping List
Going a step farther than just having healthy food and goods available for purchase online, these digital retailers are creating the customized experiences that today’s online consumer craves. Thrive Market prompts you to complete a relatively comprehensive preference survey as soon as you visit their site in anticipation of offering you the types of foods you are most likely to buy.
When visiting these sites you may notice one word in particular, “curated.” In the case of Bubble Goods, or getintothebubble.com, this curation ensures that your goods meet a high standard of criteria they have developed with the help of nutritionists and chefs. They state that their products never contain refined or artificial sugars, dyes, preservatives, fillers, gums, trans fats, or hydrogenated oils. Are you careful to look for words like “organic,” “nutritious,” and “non-G.M.O” when shopping? Then this could be a worthwhile option for you because all the products on the site are pre-vetted to save you time. Food sourcing is also high on their list of priorities, as is “shelfie” worthiness. No more squinty-eyed label reading while bumping carts in the brick and mortar market.
What is the biggest advantage to shopping these sites? Platform creators like Bubble anticipate that the exposure to independent brands that you may not have even known existed, is key to you choosing their approach to shopping over any other.
Shoppers also enjoy the convenience these sites provide in shopping for specific dietary concerns and preferences, including those who are on keto-based, vegan, gluten-free, paleo, and raw diets. Products that address specific health concerns and conditions such as common cold defense, inflammation, heart health, mood, energy, memory, insomnia, digestion, and many others, are easily searchable on these sites.
In addition to the introduction to new, quality brands consumers can trust, platform creators feel that providing the ability to order on-the-go, deals and access to annual memberships that offer savings with every order, will keep you logging in to see what’s new and what’s now. Foods that are trending are also spotlighted with every site visit and the regular newsletters that members receive.
Your Personal Shopping Philosophy
Yes, this is a “thing.” Are you all about the deal? Do you have a specific health goal in mind when shopping? Do you consider yourself an environmentally-conscious individual? Personal preferences reign supreme on these sites and platform creators are learning more about you every day, which will be reflected in what you will see as part of your personal online experience with their site.
An environmentally- and socially-conscious consumer will not only experience a convenient and expedient way to shop, they can also feel good about the event. If you are community-centric, Thrive Market, for instance, sponsors a membership to a low-income family with every regular membership sold.
Bringing healthier food choices to those who might otherwise not have these options, is certainly something to feel good about. And if you’re worried about the environmental impact from shipping all your items, you need not be, as most of these digital retailers offer packaging that is recyclable or reusable.
Your Grocery Bill
While most sites do what they can to bring the cost of the naturally higher prices on natural and organic foods more in line by offering daily or weekly specials, cash-back incentives, discounts through apps, and everyday discounts on regular retail, you will find higher prices on some sites for some products. Luckily, in the online retail space you won’t have to drive to compare prices from three different markets; comparisons here are only a click and a new window away!
