You might agree that grocery shopping is one of life’s necessary evils. Like scrubbing the bathtub, doing the laundry and having dinner with the in-laws, it’sessential but rarely fun.
Thankfully, we live in an age when we can now eschew the chore of queueing endlessly at the supermarket once and for all. With just a few clicks and your trusty credit card by your side, you can have your day-to-day items sent to your door.
And with the sudden proliferation of online grocers in Singapore, the stiffening competition in the sector means these vendors can offer free or even same-day delivery  making your life that much more convenient.
So, armed with a short list of 10 daily essentials, we loaded up our virtual shopping carts with the same items at six of the most well-known online supermarkets to see what the differences would be  and came away quite surprised at the potential price gaps.
Witness the savings free delivery can mean to a simple grocery order:
| Redmart | Cold Storage | Fairprice | Kenny Grocery | All For You by Sheng Siong |
Giant | |
| Thai fragrant rice – 5kg | S$14.55 | S$14.50 | S$13.95 | S$15.30 | S$14.80 | S$15.50 |
| Eggs 10s (cheapest available) | S$1.85 | S$2.30 | S$1.60 | S$2.90 | S$1.55 | S$1.80 |
| White bread loaf – 400g | S$2.00 | S$2.00 | S$2.00 | S$2.00 | S$2.00 | S$2.00 |
| Vegetable oil – 2L | S$3.95 | S$6.64 | S$4.80 | S$6.30 | S$3.90 | S$4.95 |
| Kai lan – 300g | S$2.00 | S$3.95 | S$1.55 | S$2.00 | S$1.90 | S$1.40 |
| Kikkoman Premium soya sauce – 600ml | S$4.65 | S$4.90 | S$4.65 | S$4.65 | S$4.65 | S$4.65 |
| Coke Light, 4 cans | S$3.40 | S$3.20 | S$3.20 | S$3.20 | S$3.20 | S$3.40 |
| Dove Daily Shine shampoo | S$11.50 | S$11.70 | S$11.50 | S$8.90 | S$11.70 | S$11.70 |
| Kleenex 20s toilet roll | S$13 | S$13.45 | S$13.80 | S$14.45 | S$14.45 | S$14.45 |
| Dishwashing liquid refill (cheapest) | S$1.50 | S$1.60 | S$1.50 | S$1.55 | S$1.55 | S$1.55 |
| SubtotalS$61.25 | S$59.85 | S$64.25 | S$58.55 | S$61.25 | S$59.50 | S$61.40 |
| Delivery | S$0 | S$7 | S$10.70 | S$0 | S$7 | S$7 |
| TOTAL | S$59.85 | S$71.25 | S$69.25 | S$61.25 | S$66.50 | S$68.40 |
Start the slideshow for our comments on each online supermarket’s site user-friendliness, and the minimum spend required to qualitfy for free delivery.
HONESTBEE
Unlike the online grocery stores mentioned above, honestbee doesn’t actually keep their own inventory of goods. Instead, they have a team of concierge shoppers who hand-picks items from supermarkets and delis near you, and delivers them to your door. Occasionally, prices on honestbee might be different from in-store prices, but go to the Stores page and look at the labels below store logos to see which have the same prices in store.
It’s worth noting that honestbee has the lowest free delivery threshold at just S$30, and offers same-day delivery. This makes it a great alternative if you prefer to get your goods from FairPrice, Cold Storage, and Sheng Siong, but aren’t happy with their delivery costs.
Delivery Charge: S$10 for orders below S$30, and S$2 for delivery during peak time slots
Minimum Order for Free Delivery: S$30
This article was first published on Shopback.sg, a shopping portal that helps you earn up to 30 per cent cashback every time you shop online. Signing up is completely free.
