Grocery shopping has never been one of my favorite chores, which is kind of a problem because I really like to have food available for myself and for my family.  Fortunately for me, my husband likes to do the grocery shopping.  He even likes to get the kids involved in the grocery store fun.  Taking one of both of my children, and/or going with my husband, and/or going by myself to the grocery store ranks pretty high on the list of things that I hate to do.

Welcome to Shipt…  Download the Shipt app and you too could be ordering and receiving your groceries from the comfort of your own couch, just like me.

Here’s the main gist:

1. Not available everywhere.

   Shipt is, sadly, not available everywhere.  After I found out about Shipt from a friend [Hey Jenn!], I was so excited to share the glorious news with my mother and sister-in-law, who both live in Naples.  After doing so, I realized that they don’t have Shipt in Naples…… But guess what?  Now they do have Shipt in Naples, so I don’t feel quite so guilty anymore!  Instead, I’m wondering whether either of them signed up for a Shipt account yet… Check your area {{{ here}}}}.  I seem to remember that Shipt sent me updates when the service was released in Naples.

2. Not every item from the store is available through the app,

   but you can try entering your own custom items.

3. The price in the app may/will be different/higher than the price in the store.

   I’m not trying to point fingers, because I know it’s part of the overall convenience advantage, but I made a Shipt order the other day and the delivery guy left the Publix receipt in the bag.

1. You can get either a monthly membership for $14.99, or an annual membership for $99, billed all up front.

   If I were good at math, I would figure out the break-even point for the different memberships so that I could recommend one over the other.  It’s up to you.  It’s a grocery delivery service, don’t beat yourself up about it.

2. The list of recent items available under the “Your Shopping List” tab is helpful,

   although I think a Favorite button/list might be a better option.  Not all my recently purchased items end up on that list.  Just being honest.

3. Undeniable convenience, when it works the way it is supposed to work.

   I really like how the Shipt app gives you one-hour delivery windows.  It would be unbearable if you had to commit to a multiple-hour window or half-day delivery schedule to get your groceries  No offense: cable companies, phone companies, internet providers, etc.  There have been times when my husband was out of town and I already had to be running the boys around town, so using Shipt saved me the hassle of making the trip to Publix.  But, there have also been a few times that the Shipt business model failed me, as the end-consumer.

4. Unbelievably frustrating when it does not work the way it is supposed to work.

   I have a standard instruction/note that I add to each of my grocery orders.  This note informs any potential shoppers that they should not claim my order if they are unable to make the delivery in my requested time frame. With all that being said, there have been two occasions when compliance with the delivery window did become an issue and required phone calls to me from people at the Shipt offices.  Needless to say, on those two occasions, someone claimed my order and was then, by no fault of their own, of course, rendered unable to get my order to my house within the time frame that I selected and to which they agreed when they claimed my order.  On at least one of those occasions (my memory is failing me now), I did not get my grocery order until the following day.  It seemed very odd to me the first time it happened because the shopper was aggressively claiming orders on different sides of town and not taking into account the travel time between destinations.  I had just assumed that the shoppers were from my general area because it is well populated with young, app-savvy college students and people with entrepreneurial spirit.  (Did you know Shipt is also hiring shoppers?)

   5.  You cannot use your reusable Publix bags.

Tips & Tricks

If you are still with me after all of that nonsense, then you are probably asking yourself what else is on the standard instruction/note that I add to each of my Shipt orders?  So glad you asked.  I live in a gated community and all drivers are required to present their identification at the gate for entry.  I warn the Shipt shopper of that and that if he/she texts me their full name, I will add them to the gate list.  Otherwise, they will have to wait for the gate to get ahold of one of us.  If delivering to your home will present any number of obstacles to the Shipt shopper, you may want to warning them in adance.

There have also been a few times when I got a different item than the one I requested.  My friend Jenn, who referred me to to Shipt, has the best story about this.  She was getting ready for a fishing trip and requested a 10 pound bag of ice.  Instead, she got a 10 pound bag of RICE.  Shipt claimed to not see what the issue was, but I think eventually they got it and got it taken care of…  If you find that you did not receive and item or that you received an incorrect item, you can let Shipt know through the app.  Go to: Your Orders, click on the order that was missing an item or for which you received the wrong item.  Use the “Something Wrong With An Item” button at the top of the “Order Details” section of the “Order” page to report any issues with your order to Shipt.

Here’s the verdict:

I like the convenience of Shipt and will probably keep using it, even though I end up paying more for my groceries.  The convenience factor cannot be beat.