More grocers are now offering delivery

DETROIT — Want to ditch the shopping cart? Grocery delivery services are growing rapidly, but shoppers need to decide if the convenience is worth the higher cost.

Big companies like Amazon and Walmart are expanding grocery delivery, as are regional players like FreshDirect. Grocery chains like Kroger and Safeway are working with third party delivery services like Instacart or developing their own services.

Groceries have been slower to migrate online than books, clothing and other items. Online grocery sales make up 3% of the $800 billion food retail market, according to a recent report by Deutsche Bank. That’s expected to climb to 12% by 2025 as services grow and stores offer more options, like online ordering for pickup.

Offerings vary. Customers can pay per delivery or with an annual fee. Orders under $35 generally cost more. Some companies promise delivery in one or two hours. Others, like Peapod, offer next day service. Delivery during peak times may cost more.

Sometimes shoppers pay the same price they would in the store. In other cases, they pay more for each item to cover the processing cost. Shipt says members can expect to pay $5 more per $35 order when they shop through its website versus shopping in a store.

Celeste Haar, a small business owner in Metairie, Louisiana, uses Shipt for orders from Target but Instacart for most groceries. She has a $49 annual membership for Shipt and pays a $9.99 monthly fee for Instacart.

Haar estimates the services save her at least two hours per week.

“This is one small way to take care of myself that is so much better than a massage or pedicure and costs less,” she said.

For some, grocery delivery is more than a convenience. Maryjo Harper, a retired insurance claims manager and minister who lives in Wilsonville, Oregon, started using Instacart a little more than a year ago while she was recuperating from rotator cuff surgery.

Harper still uses the service a couple of times a month, especially in the winter. She pays $3.99 per delivery plus service fees. But she’s a reluctant user, partly because she feels Instacart isn’t transparent about its fees. She recently paid $3.69 on Instacart’s website for green leaf lettuce, for example, but on the actual receipt from Safeway — where it was purchased — the lettuce cost $1.19.

There are other downsides to delivery. Customers might miss an interesting new product or a good deal. Picky shoppers might not like what’s selected for them. And some customers have complained that delivery drivers won’t go to certain neighborhoods.

Still, Tobie Stanger, a senior editor with Consumer Reports, said delivery is a good option for many people.

“There is a cost savings in terms of time, if your time is money,” she said.