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These foods should never be bought online - advantages and disadvantages of online shopping

2021-01-26T16:22:59.929Z


The online food delivery industry is booming in times of the Corona. What are the advantages and disadvantages of it and which products it is better not to buy online.


The online food delivery industry is booming in times of the Corona.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of it and which products it is better not to buy online.

Especially in the current, Corona-related uncertain times *, you are very happy when you rarely have

to go to the supermarket or discount store to

go

shopping

.

Therefore, more and more people are taking advantage of the opportunity

to order groceries online

.

The delivery industry is booming: delivery services such as Getnow, Rewe or Amazon Fresh have become increasingly popular since the beginning of the corona pandemic.

The e-commerce industry association bevh reports: In the second quarter of 2020, sales in the Internet trade with groceries rose significantly to 772 million euros.

That is almost twice as many compared to the previous year.

According to market experts and forecasts by the Federal Statistical Office, this is a

sustainable development

, which has already emerged, but has

been accelerated by Corona

.

Also read:

FFP2 masks when shopping - You must observe these rules from now on.

Buying groceries online: advantages and disadvantages

The

advantages

are particularly obvious in the current situation: You don't even have to leave your house for your weekly shopping, let alone

expose

yourself to

the

risk of contracting

the corona virus from other customers.

Instead, you

can conveniently

compare the providers (depending on the region)

on your computer from home

, put all the groceries in the virtual shopping cart and pay online.

You can even set a delivery date (in most cases with an exact time frame) so that you will definitely be at home by the time of delivery.

It also

saves you time

and the

need to

haul shopping bags

and boxes.

This is a particularly pleasant advantage for older people or buyers without a car.

Criticisms of online shopping

, as a 2018 report by Stiftung Warentest showed, are the difficult-to-understand compliance with the

cold chain

and the

higher amount of waste

compared to on-site shopping: groceries are often individually packaged for delivery.

In addition, you have to achieve a certain value of goods so that there are no

delivery

costs.

Another disadvantage: when it comes to fruit and vegetables, you cannot decide for yourself which bananas, tomatoes and the like to buy.

For many consumers it is important to look for the best ripe fruits and vegetables in the supermarket for themselves.

Another disadvantage of buying groceries online is simply that you

miss out on

special

discount offers in the store

.

On the other hand, you save yourself

impulse purchases

, which in turn are

not

necessary

when ordering online.

Also interesting:

shopping in lockdown and for quarantine - buy according to this checklist.

Online orders: These foods should never be bought online 

There are many

foods

that you can buy online without hesitation.

This is particularly true for long-lasting foods such as rice, canned food and cans, pasta and the like, or heavy products such as drinks.

On the other hand, there are also

foods that it would be better not to order online

.

  • Avocados

    :

    Finding the

    perfect avocado is a masterpiece: it must not be too unripe, but also not too ripe.

    If you order online, the chances of getting exactly the right avocado are very slim.

  • Tomatoes, peaches and berries

    : These are easily perishable fruits that mold quickly and develop bruises easily.

    Similar to the avocados, you do not know at what degree of ripeness these foods will arrive at your home.

    This makes them unsuitable to buy online, but should be bought in person in the supermarket.

  • Eggs

    : They are also very sensitive and should always be checked in the supermarket so that they do not have any cracks.

    Transport with a delivery service could not do the fragile food any good either.

  • Fish and meat

    : If food of any kind is transported for hours without proper refrigeration or is standing in front of your door, that's not a good thing.

    But it gets really dangerous with fish that has not been refrigerated in the meantime: Even if you prepare it correctly, you can get sick from it.

    The same applies to fresh or frozen meat.

    You can still get the best quality at the fresh produce counter.

Also note:

Seasonal shopping: You shouldn't buy these fruits and vegetables in winter.

Click & Collect: Practical pick-up service in the supermarket

The golden mean between shopping in the supermarket and online orders could be found in the “

Click & Collect

system

.

In the lockdown, more and more

supermarkets and drugstores

- for example Rewe and dm - are

offering

the option for customers to buy the products online and pick them up at a participating branch.

However, you need the right app and there are usually service fees.

(mad) * Merkur.de is part of the nationwide Ippen-Digital editors network.

Sources: tagesschau.de, Stiftung Warentest, chip.de

Read more:

Up to 92 percent: These foods have become more expensive during the Corona crisis.

Whistle on the best before date: This is how you can tell whether a food is spoiled

Whistle on the best before date: This is how you can tell whether a food is spoiled

Source: merkur

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