Online grocery delivery services promise to take the grunt work out of grocery shopping with just a few simple clicks. But is it as easy as it seems and can you rely on the quality and accuracy of your online order?
We put four major online grocery retailers to the test – Coles, Woolworths, IGA and Harris Farm Markets (which delivers in New South Wales, South East Queensland, the ACT and Melbourne).
How we test online grocery delivery services
We place orders with all four retailers (under a pseudonym to make sure we don’t get any special treatment) and assess how easy it is to place and complete the order, and how prompt the delivery is. We then meticulously examine every item on each order to check for accuracy and quality. We make sure our shopping list is as close to identical as possible for all four retailers, covering a range of fresh produce, meat and cold items as well as non-perishable and pantry items.
We place two orders with each supermarket and have one delivered to our tester’s home and the other to the CHOICE office. We place two orders to determine whether discrepancies in the deliveries are isolated incidents or consistent issues with the services provided by different location.
The CHOICE Expert Rating is made up of performance (80%) and ease of use (20%).
Performance
There are two tests that make up the collective performance score.
Order accuracy (80% of performance score): Were all the products delivered and were substitutions appropriate and fair? We penalise retailers for insufficient substitutions (like corn chips instead of potato chips), out-of-stock items and forgotten products. We also check the quality and quantity of all fresh produce to make sure it’s of an acceptable standard.
Delivery accuracy (20% of performance score): Did the delivery arrive within the specified delivery window?
Ease of use
There are three elements that make up the collective ease of use score. They’re assessed on a desktop computer using a web browser.
Item selection (50% of ease of use score): How good is the search function and how easy is it to add all the items on our list to our cart? We look at things like how clever the predictive search bar is, how easy it is to select the quantities you want, and how accurate and detailed the product information is.
Order administration (20% of ease of use score): How easy is it to make changes to the cart and complete payment?
Returns (20% of ease of use score): How generous is the returns and refunds policy?
Account setup (10% of ease of use score): How easy is it to set up an account and get started?
Ease of use – mobile: This score is a combination of account set-up, item selection, order administration and returns for iOS and Android devices, using apps where available. If an app isn’t available, we run the test on the mobile optimised web browser version. This doesn’t contribute to the total ease of use score or the CHOICE Expert Rating.
We also gather data on:
product range
loyalty rewards programs
standard delivery costs
delivery windows
minimum order value for delivery
options for free delivery
cost of express delivery
payment options
whether deliveries can be left outside
whether deliveries need to be collected in person.
How we choose what we test
As the online grocery delivery market in Australia is very small, we tested all four retailers who deliver both pantry goods and fresh produce. There are a number of other retailers that sell pantry goods only, often in bulk quantities, but we didn’t include them in this review as it wouldn’t be fair to compare them with retailers who include refrigerated fresh produce in their deliveries.
Our test lab and experts
We use calibrated instruments to measure the temperature of chilled goods on arrival and the exact weight of the produce we receive. Our method was developed with help from research into consumer complaints and common issues with online grocery delivery and consultation with in-house experts including our food and nutrition specialists and user experience (UX) designers.
I worked at CHOICE from January to August 2018 as a content producer (household), then began working as a freelance writer, contributing regular articles to CHOICE on a diverse range of topics from consumer rights to product safety and household goods for a number of years. I returned to CHOICE as a content editor in January 2023, working across both the magazine and digital platforms.
The work that I do for CHOICE appeals to my passion for holding businesses to account, as well as my love of words and my belief in the importance of good quality writing.
I've previously worked at Luxury Travel Magazine on news and features, as well as freelancing in marketing, digital media, advertising and e-books. I have a BA from the University of Sydney.
You can find me on LinkedIn.
I worked at CHOICE from January to August 2018 as a content producer (household), then began working as a freelance writer, contributing regular articles to CHOICE on a diverse range of topics from consumer rights to product safety and household goods for a number of years. I returned to CHOICE as a content editor in January 2023, working across both the magazine and digital platforms.
The work that I do for CHOICE appeals to my passion for holding businesses to account, as well as my love of words and my belief in the importance of good quality writing.
I've previously worked at Luxury Travel Magazine on news and features, as well as freelancing in marketing, digital media, advertising and e-books. I have a BA from the University of Sydney.
You can find me on LinkedIn.
When I first walked through the doors at CHOICE, my job was to write about tech for CHOICE Computer magazine. Since then, I've covered everything from home entertainment to personal safety devices, tech for your car and even mattresses. If you want to find the best combination of a bed, 4K TV, soundbar, GPS unit and food delivery app, I'm your guy.
The one thing I've noticed across all the product tests I've organised it's that nothing is simple.
Mattresses can be just as complicated as computers, and manufacturers as well as salespeople don't make things easy. They either use complex jargon that you just want to ignore, or they
oversimplify things to the point where you don't know what you're paying for.
My goal isn't just to help you find the best TV, mattress or soundbar, I also want to cut
through the nonsense and help you fully understand the products you're considering. That way, you
can make an educated, informed decision when it's time to buy without falling prey to a sly
salesperson.
Plus, when you understand the product, you know how to set it up in a way that best suits your
home and can look after it. Nothing is plug and play anymore, and if a complicated smartphone or
Bluetooth speaker feels less intimidating after you've read my content, then I know I've done my
job.
Outside of work I'm very into gaming, I love
watching retro classics at the cinema, I enjoy getting up early to spend hours smoking a tasty cut of
meat and I'm deeply into home hi-fi. Any music genre from laidback jazz to the loudest, screamiest,
most brutal heavy metal ticks all my boxes. I also had a stint as a live music photographer for a number of years.
You can find me on LinkedIn.
When I first walked through the doors at CHOICE, my job was to write about tech for CHOICE Computer magazine. Since then, I've covered everything from home entertainment to personal safety devices, tech for your car and even mattresses. If you want to find the best combination of a bed, 4K TV, soundbar, GPS unit and food delivery app, I'm your guy.
The one thing I've noticed across all the product tests I've organised it's that nothing is simple.
Mattresses can be just as complicated as computers, and manufacturers as well as salespeople don't make things easy. They either use complex jargon that you just want to ignore, or they
oversimplify things to the point where you don't know what you're paying for.
My goal isn't just to help you find the best TV, mattress or soundbar, I also want to cut
through the nonsense and help you fully understand the products you're considering. That way, you
can make an educated, informed decision when it's time to buy without falling prey to a sly
salesperson.
Plus, when you understand the product, you know how to set it up in a way that best suits your
home and can look after it. Nothing is plug and play anymore, and if a complicated smartphone or
Bluetooth speaker feels less intimidating after you've read my content, then I know I've done my
job.
Outside of work I'm very into gaming, I love
watching retro classics at the cinema, I enjoy getting up early to spend hours smoking a tasty cut of
meat and I'm deeply into home hi-fi. Any music genre from laidback jazz to the loudest, screamiest,
most brutal heavy metal ticks all my boxes. I also had a stint as a live music photographer for a number of years.
You can find me on LinkedIn.
