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Is there any reason to go to the store anymore?

jessica. said:
Morning lady boners. haha


If I can get it cheaper online I will usually but if I need to see it first then I'll probably buy in store. I avoid malls as much as I can but there are times when I need to go to one (Williams Sonoma) so if I make the trip I may as well buy there.

I do enjoy supporting local businesses. Knowing a couple small business owners in my area makes me want to do something like that.
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I have no problem supporting local business owners but man some of the service I have experienced at both big and small stores is horrendios. This is a big reason why I like shopping online. No need to deal with crappy sales people. Now to be fair, not all of my experiences have been bad. Best Buy is one I rarely visit do to the poor service.
 
Groceries: I want to pick out my own produce, dairy, meat, bakery. Won't order online.
Clothing: I want to see the color, feel the fabric (there's a lot of thin cheap stuff out there), and try it on. Exception: underwear and socks. I have a favored brand and design, easiest to get online.
Electronics: gotta see, handle, and try before buying. A trip to the Apple Store is a red letter day.
Appliances: again, I need to see, handle, and compare.
Furniture: absolutely must see, try, and compare in showrooms.
Medications: local pharmacy has vastly better service than online.
That just leaves books, music, and vids, all of which I buy online. Food for my cockatiels, also online, simply because I can't get what I want from brick-and-mortar stores.
 
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I buy as much as possible online. I've started to get some grocery items using Amazon Prime Now..."pre-packaged" type grocery items. For meats and produce I still have to go to the grocery store and pick it out myself. Clothes are mostly online...I have my favorite brands and I know my sizes with those brands. Electronics are typically online (I rely heavily on user reviews to make my decisions with major electronics purchases). Shoes are a mix of online and outlet stores (whichever has the best price).

Buying online with free shipping and services like Amazon Prime Now, even if there is a nominal monthly/annual fee or if overall prices are higher, the convenience is worth it to me. My time can be better spent doing other things (like napping). Also, I have no problem paying "X" more dollars and cents to avoid having to drive to a store, navigate a busy parking lot, push a shaky shopping cart around a busy store full of jerks and weirdos.
 
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I do everything online. The only thing I actually need to go anywhere is for gas..............I get my groceries delivered and for clothes I have a shopper at Saks who knows my size so will send me suggestions and I'll just reply what I like. I have to go in for alterations sometimes but that's not super often unless it's something like a jacket.

I do it more to avoid the people. I am doing it out of laziness to be sure, I'm not denying that. However, all the stupid people that go to malls and just out shopping in general I'd rather not deal with. Like this last weekend is a perfect example with the pink Jordans being released and there were reported violence at malls all over the place for it.
 
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JoshMKB24 said:
I do everything online. The only thing I actually need to go anywhere is for gas..............I get my groceries delivered and for clothes I have a shopper at Saks who knows my size so will send me suggestions and I'll just reply what I like. I have to go in for alterations sometimes but that's not super often unless it's something like a jacket.

I do it more to avoid the people. I am doing it out of laziness to be sure, I'm not denying that. However, all the stupid people that go to malls and just out shopping in general I'd rather not deal with. Like this last weekend is a perfect example with the pink Jordans being released and there were reported violence at malls all over the place for it.
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Half the reason I go shopping is to see the 'stupid' people, it is entertaining to see what they get up to.
 
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JoshMKB24 said:
I do everything online. The only thing I actually need to go anywhere is for gas..............I get my groceries delivered and for clothes I have a shopper at Saks who knows my size so will send me suggestions and I'll just reply what I like. I have to go in for alterations sometimes but that's not super often unless it's something like a jacket.

I do it more to avoid the people. I am doing it out of laziness to be sure, I'm not denying that. However, all the stupid people that go to malls and just out shopping in general I'd rather not deal with. Like this last weekend is a perfect example with the pink Jordans being released and there were reported violence at malls all over the place for it.
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Who do you get your groceries delivered from? I looked at amazon, but they wanted $299 to do the Fresh Prime membership?!
 
rhett7660 said:
Who do you get your groceries delivered from? I looked at amazon, but they wanted $299 to do the Fresh Prime membership?!
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There are 2 grocery stores local to me that will deliver. The one I get from the most often just has a minimum of 50.00(pretty easily met) and they will deliver it for you.
 
rhett7660 said:
That is very nice. We are now looking at Vons since they are now delivering in our area.
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I will say though I do agree with the people who say they go for their fresh meats and produce at the actual store.

I have a pretty strict diet and meal plan, so I mainly get bags of frozen chicken, ground turkey, and frozen vegetables to prepare my meals throughout the week. There still is no substitute at this point online for personal preference of meat/produce.

I know on Instacart I've seen that you can add special instructions, but it's hard to describe exactly what you're looking for as far as produce firmness/color or meat color
 
JoshMKB24 said:
I will say though I do agree with the people who say they go for their fresh meats and produce at the actual store.

I have a pretty strict diet and meal plan, so I mainly get bags of frozen chicken, ground turkey, and frozen vegetables to prepare my meals throughout the week. There still is no substitute at this point online for personal preference of meat/produce.

I know on Instacart I've seen that you can add special instructions, but it's hard to describe exactly what you're looking for as far as produce firmness/color or meat color
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I order groceries from Walmart, if I'm picking up FRESH meat or produce I sometimes like to go pick it out in person, but frozen? No big deal as far as I'm concerned; one plastic bag of corn is the same as any other, really.
 
Tomorrow said:
I order groceries from Walmart, if I'm picking up FRESH meat or produce I sometimes like to go pick it out in person, but frozen? No big deal as far as I'm concerned; one plastic bag of corn is the same as any other, really.
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Agreed, which is 1 reason I don't mind or get picky with the delivery services for groceries since most of it is frozen. If I'm doing like a Sunday night steak or something, I'll actually go to at the very least a Whole Foods, but usually a local butcher.
 
JoshMKB24 said:
I will say though I do agree with the people who say they go for their fresh meats and produce at the actual store.

I have a pretty strict diet and meal plan, so I mainly get bags of frozen chicken, ground turkey, and frozen vegetables to prepare my meals throughout the week. There still is no substitute at this point online for personal preference of meat/produce.

I know on Instacart I've seen that you can add special instructions, but it's hard to describe exactly what you're looking for as far as produce firmness/color or meat color
Click to expand...

Tomorrow said:
I order groceries from Walmart, if I'm picking up FRESH meat or produce I sometimes like to go pick it out in person, but frozen? No big deal as far as I'm concerned; one plastic bag of corn is the same as any other, really.
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JoshMKB24 said:
Agreed, which is 1 reason I don't mind or get picky with the delivery services for groceries since most of it is frozen. If I'm doing like a Sunday night steak or something, I'll actually go to at the very least a Whole Foods, but usually a local butcher.
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Gotcha, that is kind of what we figured. Speaking of meat, have you been to any of the Target stores that have the grocery store sections? In our experience, the meat has been fantastic. Of course our local Sprouts has some realllly good stuff also.

Thanks for the tips!
 
I go to the store to find out what I want, then I go home and look for it online for a cheaper price.
 
rhett7660 said:
Gotcha, that is kind of what we figured. Speaking of meat, have you been to any of the Target stores that have the grocery store sections? In our experience, the meat has been fantastic. Of course our local Sprouts has some realllly good stuff also.

Thanks for the tips!
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Never tried Sprouts (heard good things, though), but I can confirm Target has a pretty good selection of quality meat, unless you're looking for specialty butcher shop type of quality.
 
rhett7660 said:
Gotcha, that is kind of what we figured. Speaking of meat, have you been to any of the Target stores that have the grocery store sections? In our experience, the meat has been fantastic. Of course our local Sprouts has some realllly good stuff also.

Thanks for the tips!
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I've never tried Sprouts before, I'll have to look into if there is 1 close.

I've never tried the meat from Target grocery, we have 1 actually 6 blocks from me. Whenever I'm in there it's usually because I'm looking for travel sized items for travel and happen to wander over there and get some bags of beef jerky or something :)
 
Tech198 said:
really ? I thought Nightclubs were for that.

Probably more and more people shop online..... and we all become slack... isn't that the future?
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I like to think of it as using my time more efficiently. I don't have to drive/ride/walk to the store. Park, walk through the store for the items on my list. Wait in line to check out........ :D

That is how I like to spin it and justify it. :D
 
nightcap965 said:
Groceries: I want to pick out my own produce, dairy, meat, bakery. Won't order online.
Clothing: I want to see the color, feel the fabric (there's a lot of thin cheap stuff out there), and try it on. Exception: underwear and socks. I have a favored brand and design, easiest to get online.
Electronics: gotta see, handle, and try before buying. A trip to the Apple Store is a red letter day.
Appliances: again, I need to see, handle, and compare.
Furniture: absolutely must see, try, and compare in showrooms.
Medications: local pharmacy has vastly better service than online.
That just leaves books, music, and vids, all of which I buy online. Food for my cockatiels, also online, simply because I can't get what I want from brick-and-mortar stores.
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However, for maintenance prescriptions online is superior IMO.

Amazon has fundamentally changed retail. Brick and mortar stores are scrambling trying to figure out how to reduce their overhead. However some categories seem relatively safe like grocery stores, building supply, and car dealerships, others are hurt but may survive as I think of Best Buy although I could see them going out. Not helping is people shopping there to check out merchandise, then going home to order from a less expensive online source. Several speciality computer chains have folded, but others remain, like Apple and Fry's. Last time I went by a MS store, it was 3x as large as the Apple Store across the isle with 3x less people hanging out in it.
 
I go to a store if I'm not sure of sizing. Like tennis shoes, but once I'm sure of the right size the future purchases are on line. Amazon Prime has reduced shopping trips and saves me a fortune.
 
JoshMKB24 said:
I've never tried Sprouts before, I'll have to look into if there is 1 close.

I've never tried the meat from Target grocery, we have 1 actually 6 blocks from me. Whenever I'm in there it's usually because I'm looking for travel sized items for travel and happen to wander over there and get some bags of beef jerky or something :)
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I got to Sprouts for all of my meat and produce. The store has a Whole Foods vibe to it without the Whole Foods prices. Good meat, good produce, lots of organic options if you're into that sort of thing.
 
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