Online supermarkets are becoming increasingly popular. Shops like Rewe and Real offer their own order service. There are also markets like Mytime or food.de, which are specially designed for online trading. In times of Corona, in which we should avoid social contacts and when visiting the supermarket becomes a gauntlet, they would theoretically be the perfect alternative. The problem: Most delivery times are currently long or already fully booked. We'll tell you why and where you might still find it.
Not prepared for the big demand
Very few online supermarkets were prepared for the increased demand from Corona. Because even if the popularity of delivery services increases, most of us still prefer to go to the local supermarket. According to a survey in 2019, just 3.5 million Germans used the online food trade. It can be assumed that this number has increased significantly in the current situation. After all, many of us would like to avoid supermarkets completely at the moment. In addition, many products such as pasta, rice or toilet paper are sold out, which leads to more people looking for them online.
Such a strong growth in demand was hardly foreseeable two months ago. Accordingly, online retailers are particularly lacking in delivery capacity. Often it doesn't fail because the products are sold out, but simply because the suppliers and warehouse workers are missing. That is why the next free delivery times for most services are only in one week at the earliest. Some providers such as bringmirbio.de currently no longer offer any appointments at all.
Rewe, Real & Co .: Deliveries to local markets are top priority
The digital supermarkets also have another problem: the delivery to the local shops is a priority. Since the employees can hardly keep up with filling the shelves here either, it is only logical that particularly popular products such as pasta are also not available online. In addition, it is often the case here that the deliveries have to be prepared by the individual branches – however, the staff currently lack the time. Accordingly, it can take a few weeks here for a delivery or pick-up date to become free.
How to still get groceries online
The bad news in advance: It will probably not be possible to do your next weekly shopping online at the moment, but if you plan ahead, with a little luck you can at least order the shopping for the next week online. It also depends a little on your location. For Amazon Fresh *, for example, there were the next delivery dates in Berlin on March 31. – Unfortunately, Amazon's online delivery service only delivers to some major German cities.
The online supermarket Myenso also states that orders from the dry range nationwide can be shipped in 3 to 4 days. However, fresh products are only shipped regionally. Whether there are any restrictions here depends on your location.
Our "insider tip"
Okay, this tip is not that secret. Often, however, one does not immediately think of it: there are many packaged foods in the normal Amazon range. You don't need an Amazon Fresh subscription for pasta, coffee – and yes, also toilet paper. If you have a Prime membership, there is even a chance that you will have your delivery on your doorstep tomorrow. However, there are currently delivery bottlenecks at Amazon, which is why the prime delivery may take a little longer. Some products are also sold out here. The products are often a little more expensive than in the shop and sometimes come in 5-kilo packs. If you are looking for a little, you will usually find a suitable solution.
This alternative is particularly useful if you just want to make a few purchases that you can't find in your local supermarket. After all, it can be quite frustrating to venture into the supermarket crowds for the third time in a row – just to stand in front of an empty toast shelf again (I speak from experience!).
