Supermarkets keen to check out home shopping

The weekly grocery shop is becoming less of a chore with many supermarkets keen to undertake the entire process for you. Some will accept orders over the phone or by fax and - often - will deliver it free of charge. And in the not so distant future, you should also be able to browse through the aisles on the Internet.

All the multiples are keen to provide home shopping services. In Britain and Ireland, the major supermarket chains are investing substantially in home shopping, anxious to cater for the millions of customers who prefer to spend their valuable time on pursuits other than shopping or those who are simply unable to leave their home.

Though none of the Irish-based supermarkets are on the Internet, home shopping services are already well advanced here, with most prepared to cater for whatever customers want.

The Supervalu and Centra chains have provided this service for a number of years and may be the first to move onto the Internet. The group is doing a feasibility study to determine whether its customers would like to become cyber shoppers.

"It will really depend on the demand there is for it but we are certainly looking at the possibility of putting our shopping services online," a spokeswoman said.

Home shopping has already become a key part of its business throughout the Republic, accounting for up to 15 per cent of sales in certain outlets. The Deansgrange Supervalu branch in the south Dublin area is one of the busiest, with staff taking, filling and delivering up to 250 phone orders every week. "Customers can fax or phone in orders and get their shopping delivered free of charge. Generally, deliveries are made within a five-mile radius in the city or up to 15 miles in other areas," the spokeswoman said.

Most Tesco stores also offer this service, although the conditions on which it is available may differ across each outlet. Mr Sean McGrane, manager of the branch in Dublin's Merrion Centre, says orders tend to come from a broad range of shoppers.

Mr McGrane says the service is time consuming and labour-intensive and thus expensive to operate. "Sometimes it can take up to 20 minutes to take a shopping order over the phone. A staff member then has to literally do the shopping, taking care to store away fresh produce until it is ready to be delivered. It all takes time."

He says the store is fairly flexible about deliveries and will get the shopping to you as soon as you want it. Other Tesco stores say that though they don't formally advertise a home shopping service, they will meet customer requests for one.

"We have a number of companies who use the service and it is also used by both young and older customers. You just write out your shopping list and either phone it in to one of the staff or fax it and pay for it with your credit card or on delivery."

Unlike Centra and Supervalu, the Merrion Centre Tesco branch charges a fee of £3 per order. Dunnes Stores introduced a fax ordering service in January at its Cornelscourt branch in Dublin and the Annadale outlet in Belfast. The company says it hasn't aggressively marketed the facility but it has generated interest among customers.

The company already delivers shopping, generally free of charge in most areas, and sees the fax ordering service as an extension of this - although it is still in an experimental stage.

"There is no clear trend evident in terms of the level of demand for the service and we will assess it at a later date," the company said.

All stores say that while the volume of requests for home shopping services soars during the winter and when the weather is bad, the trend is generally on the increase.

In Britain, Tesco has extended this service to the Internet in the greater London area and Leeds. It aims to eventually make it available almost nationwide. It has no plans to introduce it in Ireland.

The Tesco UK Web site offers customers access to its Internet Superstore. To begin shopping, each customer is given an identification code, with which they can place orders and pay by credit card.

This option is probably easier than writing a shopping list and may help to ensure nothing is forgotten. Internet customers can choose from the entire Tesco range. They can then collect their shopping at their nearest branch or have it delivered, usually for a small fee.

The British multiples estimate that up to 5 per cent of shoppers would shop from home if the service was widely available. Marks & Spencer has introduced a pilot phone-in grocery service for shoppers. This is available in just three stores in Britain, but may be extended. Sainsbury plans to invest an estimated £5 million in creating a specialist home shopping service in 32 stores. By September, it expects up to four million customers will be able to order groceries by phone, fax or the Internet for a minimum fee of £5.

In the US, home grocery shopping is highly sophisticated, with services similar to the Tesco Internet Superstore widely available. With the growing number of personal computers in Ireland and increasing familiarity with the Internet, retailers are very aware of how attractive the medium can be for potential shoppers. And supermarkets, in a hugely competitive market, are striving to meet customer demands, making it more attractive and convenient for them to shop. The days of having to do battle for a parking space and endure long check-out queues at the weekends may be numbered.