Conversation between 2 friends about online grocery shopping in Dubai
“Hello!”
“Oh hi! How are you dear?”
“I am fine. What about you?”
“Yes, I am fine too. How are you these days?”
“Not so good.”
“Oh, why?”
“Actually I need to go out shopping for groceries. But I’m not well enough to go and do a lot of grocery shopping.”
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing much. Just a little viral fever. I am taking some medicine and I will be fine in a few days.”
“Oh! Okay. Take care of yourself.”
“Yes, I will. Right now, I need to go out for some groceries. But I can’t even stand up for long. I feel like I will fall down. I have nothing to eat in the house. I’ve been eating takeway fast food by home delivery for the past two days and now I am sick of it. I want to prepare something for myself. Or I want to eat some fresh fruit at least.”
“Okay. Just hold on a second. I have an idea for you.”
“Yes, please. I really need one. Tell me about it.”
“You can get help from online grocery shopping websites.”
“What? Is this possible here in Dubai?”
“Yes, dear. Right now Dubai has developed a good reputation for online shopping and now it is getting popular.”
“Ok. But first, explain to me how does this work?”
“Well, almost every online shopping website works in the same way. These websites are also known as online sites. You are even able to do online shopping lying on your own bed by using your laptop or mobile phone. They provide door-to-door service. Right now our town has over 20 online grocery delivery websites.”
“Really?”
“Yes. Now you don’t need to queue in crowded checkout lines any more. You are able to buy all your groceries from anywhere in Dubai without visiting any store.”
“That’s just great! Can you please tell me how online shopping actually works?”
“Well, online grocery shopping has made life easier for people like us. In this, you do not need to worry about anything else. You can pay with your own credit card. Just type all the needed details along with a valid card number and you are done. Then choose your payment method as credit card or cash on delivery. Either way, the website will deliver your grocery straight to your door. If you pay by credit card then you are paying in advance but if you pay cash on delivery then you pay cash to the delivery man. If you choose cash on delivery, you cannot pay by card to the man only cash. Just relax, you can add your shopping items to the website shopping cart while traveling or lying on the bed or enjoying your favorite cup of coffee.”
“Wow! Sounds really exciting and helpful. Have you shopped online before?”
“Yes, I have. It’s handy and easy to use. And why not do online shopping that saves me a lot of time. For a busy life, traditional grocery shopping takes up a lot of time. It’s also a very good option for those who live far from their favorite grocery shop and often I don’t have transport. So I find it easy and useful.”
“But what about the quality?”
“Well, they try to give good quality products every time. As most of them have real grocery shops so they already have fresh fruit, vegetables, dairy products and meat including other products. Also, almost every online grocer has a real store or sells for a real store, so the quality is good.”
“Ok. What about the prices? Is it expensive?”
“Yes, sometimes it is a little expensive. You may even find different prices in different stores. That may depend on the quality in some cases. Mostly, they charge more for organically grown food items or items from abroad. Many shoppers think that the variation of pricing is the result of inflation. The Gulf News of Dubai said that shopping budgets range from Dh500 to Dh3,000 every month. Most of this is fruit, vegetables, and meat.”
“What if they don’t deliver what I asked for or deliver rotten fruits and vegetables. What am I supposed to do then?”
“Well, that is a problem actually. Many people have had a bad experience doing online grocery shopping. Sometimes they deliver stale or rotten food items. When that happens you should return it immediately to the delivery man. But to do that, you have to check the delivered items as soon as you get them. It is better if you check the delivered items in front of the delivery man. Then you can return it back or ring their customer service immediately. I also did the same. For grocery shopping, I prefer cash on delivery so that I can return spoiled food products immediately to the man. Once I got a piece of meat which was not fresh at all and also smelling a bit. So I talked with customer service and they suggested to send it back.”
“Hmm. Thanks for giving me this idea. What are the best online grocery shops according to your research?”
“If you ask me personally about naming the best ones then I would say Trolley.ae, Geantonline.ae, Supermart.ae and Carrefouruae.com are the best ones.”
“Tell me more about these please.”
“Sure. Let’s start with Trolley.ae. Here you can find groceries, cleaning equipment, beauty products, and baby care items. You can even find products for pets as well. They have a very swift buying process. They also have mobile apps which makes it easy to find your items, making it less time-consuming. If you face any problem you can get help from online chat. They are always available. But they have some drawbacks such as the smaller variety of products compared to supermarkets. They are the only site that does not accept credit cards and they don’t do express delivery.”
“Credit card is not an issue for me but variety can be a problem. What is else is there?”
“Supermarket.ae is another good one that keeps health and beauty items, electronics, baby care products, stationery, and magazines. If you like organic products then they may be for you because they have an organic or gluten-free section as well as a pet shop and miscellaneous household items even barbecue appliances. They have a speedy delivery system where you can receive your stuff in just 45 to 90 minutes after you place an order. As a new customer, you will get 10% discount off your first order. They have some annoying pop up ads that show similar products when you try to buy. Other than that everything is good.”
“Okay. What about Geantonline.ae?”
“The Geantonline.ae is also good. This grocery has electronics products. They maintain a scheduled delivery within two-hour slots during the day. You will get a confirmation within 30 minutes of your order. But the interface that they use is difficult to use sometimes. The site loads slowly. If you selected some parts of your order previously and you want to add things later then you cannot do that rather you have to reorder the whole list of grocery items. Other than that, my overall experience is good with this site. You can also get help from their online chat option.”
“Seems reasonable to me. What about Carrefour?”
“This one is my personal favorite website for groceries. Carrefouruae.com will take your order then they will pick the items that you have ordered from their store, pack them well and lastly store all of them for delivery to your doorstep. All the staff are well trained to ensure you the greatest service. They deliver all the fresh food products with the longest sell-by dates, carefully selecting fruits and vegetables. Their well-trained delivery team knows how to pack groceries without damaging anything. They also use a refrigerated van that has climate controlled areas and delivers frozen products at the perfect temperature.”
“That is great. Carrefour is also my favorite grocery shop. So I think this one will be perfect for me.”
“Great. Sounds like your problem is solved.”
“Yes, I think so. Thanks a lot for letting me know about this. What else do you know about online grocery shop in Dubai?”
“Though Dubai is little late in opening online grocery delivery system still it has grabbed the market. These stores are highly influential for preserving and storing all the organic and fresh food items.”
“Which are the mainstream supermarkets here in Dubai?”
“Mainstream supermarkets are www.choithrams.com, Geant, and Aswaaq.ae.”
“Which are grocery only stores?”
“For quality food, Supermart.ae and EarlyBird.ae”
“What about organic stores including fresh fruit and vegetables?”
“For organic foods, the best are OrganicFoodsandCafe.com and DowntoEarthOrganic.ae For fresh fruits and vegetables, you may try www.myqandc.com, www.greenheartuae.com, and fruitfulday.com.”
“Okay. Can I grocery shop using a mobile app?”
“Yes of course ElGrocer.com, Instashop.ae and Trolley.ae allow you to shop via mobile apps.”
“What about meat and seafood?”
“For quality meat and seafood then you must try PrimeGourmet.ae. They provide high quality imported meat. Other than this you can try martinsmeats.me and springbokbutchery.com.”
“And gourmet grocers?”
“Try www.secretsfinefood.com and chezcharles.ae/pages/shop.”
pan style=”color: #0000ff;”>“Okay. Great! I am so sorry that I have bothered so much about this. But how do you know so much about it?”
“Well, I did a lot of research for about it for work.”
“Oh! Wow! Then I got help from the right person. Thanks a bunch dear. You just made my life so much easier. At least for some days, until I can do my chores again.”
“The pleasure is mine. If my research helps at least one person then my research has been worthwhile. Don’t thank me for that. Just get well soon and order your grocery from any of these. If you are not comfortable at least give it a try.”
“Yeah. Sure I will. You are such a savior. I need to say goodbye. Bye for now.”
“Bye dear. And take care of yourself.”