Amazon.com's latest product category -
Grocery - is now officially live. I've had a chance to try the service over the past month or so and have a few thoughts about my experience so far.
1. They currently offer $10 off on $50 purchases and the coupon is reusable. Limit your orders to $50 to save 20 on every order. The current coupon code is grocery2 (enter at check-out).
2. Amazon Grocery purchases qualify for free
Supersaver shipping and
Amazon Prime, so you won't pay shipping unless you buy only one or two items.
3. One or two items is all it takes to qualify for SuperSaver shipping because most items are bulk packaged. Think
Costco.
Here are a few price comparisons versus a Minneapolis delivery grocery service called
Simon Delivers based on a few purchases I've made. Simon Delivers tends to be slightly higher - but competitively - priced compared to local supermarkets.
Product
| Amazon
| Simon Delivers
| Amazon Cost/Unit
| Simon Delivers Cost/Unit
|
| Seventh Generation Natural Laundry Detergent | $36.99/3 150oz bottles*
| $11.99/1 100oz bottles
| $0.822/oz
| $0.1132/oz
|
| Annie's Shells & White Cheddar | $25.54/24 7-oz boxes
| $2.29/1 7-oz box
| $1.06/box
| $2.29/box |
| Gillette Mach3 Razor Cartridges | $21.49/12 pack
| $15.00/8 pack
| $1.79/unit
| $1.99/unit
|
| Glad Tall Kitchen Bags | $27.70/4-50 packs (200 bags)
| $6.99/pack (80 bags)
| $0.1385/bag
| $0.087/bag |
| Kashi Seven Whole Grains & Sesame Cereal, Honey Puffed | $17.94/6 10.75oz boxes
| $4.99/ 10.75oz box
| $2.99/box
| $4.99/box
|
Comparable Order
| 450oz detergent
24 boxes Annies
12 Razors
200 Trash Bags
6 Cereals
| 450oz detergent
24 boxes Annies
12 Razors
100 Trash Bags
6 Cereals | $36.99
$25.44
$21.49
$27.79
$17.94
| $50.94
$54.93
$24.88
$17.40
$29.94
|
Sub-Total
|
|
| $129.65
| $178.09
|
Shipping
|
|
| Free
| $5.00
|
Split the Amazon order and use two coupon codes
|
|
| -(2*$10.00)
|
|
Total
|
|
| $109.65
| $183.09
|
*Priority Mail on an 18 pound package is ~$18.95. Plus I saved around $6.00 with a coupon, leaving ~$12 to cover wholesale & handling costs. Will they make that up on volume?
I tried to think about what would be relevant items to use for this spot check and decided to use products I've actually bought. I did split the order on the above items, so this is real-world stuff. However, some of Amazon's products were on sale, so here is the breakdown with non-sale prices:
Product
| Amazon
| Simon Delivers
| Amazon Cost/Unit
| Simon Delivers Cost/Unit
|
Seventh Generation Natural Laundry Detergent
| $36.99/3 150oz bottles*
| $11.99/1 100oz bottles
| $0.0822/oz
| $0.1132/oz
|
Annie's Shells & White Cheddar
| $28.76/24 7-oz boxes
| $2.29/1 7-oz box
| $1.198/box
| $2.29/box
|
Gillette Mach3 Razor Cartridges
| $22.99/12 pack
| $15.00/8 pack
| $1.91/unit
| $1.99/unit
|
Glad Tall Kitchen Bags
| $27.70/4-50 packs (200 bags)
| $6.99/pack (80 bags)
| $0.138/bag
| $0.087/bag |
| Kashi Seven Whole Grains & Sesame Cereal, Honey Puffed | $23.94/6 10.75oz boxes
| $4.99/ 10.75oz box
| $3.99/box
| $4.99/box
|
Comparable Order
| 450oz detergent
24 boxes Annies
12 Razors
200 Trash Bags
6 Cereals
| 450oz detergent
24 boxes Annies
12 Razors
100 Trash Bags
6 Cereals | $36.99
$28.76
$22.99
$27.70
$23.94
| $50.94
$54.93
$24.88
$17.40
$29.94
|
Sub-Total
|
|
| $140.38
| $178.09
|
Shipping
|
|
| Free
| $5.00
|
Total
|
|
| $140.38
| $183.09
|
It looks like Amazon can deliver competitive prices with or without promotional sale prices.
What are the drawbacks? 
1. Limited to non-perishable items. They aren't dropping bananas in the mail, so you'll still need to go to an actual store or use a local grocery delivery service for produce, dairy (mmm, cheese), and meats.
2. The cardboard problem. You may want to consider picking up a
baling machine if you're doing much grocery shopping at Amazon. Almost everything arrives in a separate corrugated box full of boxes.
3. Bulk quantities. I don't mind buying three jugs of laundry detergent at a time, but twelve packs of
saffron? An 18-pack of almonds? Hopefully, they'll break things down into more realistic quantities over time. If I was a Costco or Sam's Club regular I may have an easier time adjusting to the volumes, but right now it seems ridiculous on some items. I don't care if it is non-perishable, I'm still not buying a lifetime supply.
4. Marginal Recommendations. Just because I bought Seventh Generation laundry detergent doesn't mean I want Seventh Generation baby wipes or diapers. Amazon probably needs more consumer data to figure out that brands mean less in Grocery than they do in consumer electronics.
5. Limited selection. Amazon boasts that their grocery store launched with 14,000 items. This may sound like a lot until you actually try to find things. Compare 14,000 to the
40,000 items found in a typical supermarket today.
Basically, they're off to a great start with room for improvement. What are your impressions?
