Review & Giveaway: Safeway Home Grocery Delivery

Safeway recently contacted me and asked if I would like to review their Online Delivery for their grocery shopping. Before my DH and I were married, I did all my grocery shopping on foot - I was lucky to live within walking distance of several grocery stores. The bright side is of course, all my groceries were fresh. The downside? Rain, and have you ever tried to carry cat litter home? lol Let me tell you, I appreciate having my DH around to help me grocery shop these days, because my shopping list certainly has expanded.


To be honest, we've kind of switched our grocery habits around in recent months, which means I am buying more at once and taking less trips. This means the car fills up, fast - especially when buying bulkier items such as toilet paper (can't exactly go without that!), diapers, cat litter, etc. Now that I am a Mom too, I not only have to work grocery shopping around my DH's work schedule, but around naptime as well - which can be a royal pain. Add in extra hot weather, rain, or winter slush and snow? Believe me, I'd rather grocery shop in my pj's behind a computer screen! (plus, no nightmare other customers taking 10 minutes to write a check out, rude people pushing their cart into you, etc!)

So I was excited to try out ordering our groceries online from Safeway. I sat there in pjs, in front of my food shelves, and went through the online specials to see what was a good deal vs. what we already had, alongside my menu planning for the next few weeks.

Here's a few things I noticed:

Not all brands are available online. For instance, we purchase Yesterday's News cat litter in the store - it was not available for purchase online. They have plenty of Safeway's store brand available though in many categories, so don't panic if you buy those.

I recommend writing your shopping list out before you get distracted by all the goodies to buy, lol, and stay away from the site when you are hungry, just like when you go shopping in person! It's easy to choose the quantity you need - and yes, you can purchase things like diapers & wipes, cat litter, dog food, etc! I was a little hesitant first at choosing out meat and veggies online - will it be the right weight? Will my fruit not be bruised? Meat not turning green?

It's super easy to understand your cost per unit/pound/whatever, because it's broken down right under the price - I really appreciated this, especially when I have to stick to a grocery budget, It's also easy to take your laptop and sit in front of your pantry (or in your kitchen) to figure out your holes, and menu plan like what I was doing.

There is no bending down, squatting and staring at the bottom shelf trying to find a price. The only lifting you are doing, is putting your groceries away after they have arrived!

Your delivery can be made within a 2 hour time slot that you choose (up to 9 at night!) which is $12.95 or $9.95 (keep reading, for a promo code!), or within a 4 hour time slot which is $6.95. Now you can't use cash or a gift card online, you'll need to use your credit or debit card. (by the way, if you are a Memolink member, sign in first through there to receive a 6,000 point bonus in your Memolink account when you order!) Free shipping can be had from time to time if you spend a certain amount. Also a fair warning: when you buy meats, fish, or veggies by the pound, the price may fluctuate depending on the actual weight of the package chosen for you - this is actually why you have to use a credit/debit card. Be aware that there could be a difference in your final bill depending on what you've ordered. (I saw about a $5 difference in mine)

I ordered from a bunch of different categories - I had everything from cat food, to paper towels (I am set for the year now!), to meat, canned goods, pasta, fruit and vegetables. And I even chose ice cream! Meet my groceries:


Normally I would never have done that on the floor, but I had just mopped the floor. (Do ignore the rawhide one of the dogs just dropped as I told them to get lost and stop drooling so I could hurry and get the picture before my ice cream melted! LOL!!)

The only thing I couldn't get over my fear was ordering eggs - I am paranoid like that. (I'm sure they would have been fine) I will say that the prices online did seem a little higher than in the store on a few items, but it probably goes back to a convenience factor. You can't expect every bargain to be found when it's being delivered.

Now you can use SOME coupons. While you don't have to tie in your Safeway Club Card to have your groceries delivered (by ordering online, you automatically get all the Club prices), you can load ShortCuts and other e-coupons onto your Club Card, and they will take those off on your final bill when it's delivered.

So all in all, I was happy with my ordering process. There has been more than one occasion that my DH's schedule hasn't allowed me to go shopping, and I've run out of eggs or milk - and while you do normally have to spend $100 to $150 at least depending on the promo available to get free shipping, if it's close to a stock up time for us, it probably would be worth it for my family. It's certainly a lot easier than carrying heavy groceries on foot or on a bus with my daughter, and it's also very easy to make sure I don't overspend on groceries.

Now, Safeway's delivery isn't available yet in all areas, so before you get too excited, you may want to check it out first (but hey, it's available in our little ol' town, so maybe yours is too!)

If you'd like to try Safeway's delivery out too, I have an AWESOME promo code for you! You'll not only get free delivery on your order, but you'll get $7 off your order (which is probably close to the total most people who aren't die hard couponers save in coupons each trip, so I think you'll even out!) Use promo code: CNFSPSYHW at checkout to receive the discount.

Win it! Thanks to Safeway, I have a $100 Safeway gift card to giveaway to one lucky reader. To enter, tell us what you think about ordering your groceries online - have you ever done it? Would you? What would you order?

As always, you can receive extra entries for:

-Subscribing to my feed or following my blog
-Blogging about this giveaway with a link back
-Tweeting about this giveaway (leave the link or @psychotichouse)

That's four (4) possible entries! Giveaway ends August 21st at 11:59 PM PST, and please leave your email address in your entry or have it available in your profile. US only, sorry :( Good luck everyone!! :)

I received a $100 Safeway gift card as reimbursement for trying out Safeway's delivery service. One reader will win the prize above, thanks to the giveaway sponsor, Safeway.