Grocery store shopping charges comparison

Online grocery shopping, while still a relatively new addition to the South African market, has proven to be a convenient way to shop without having to leaving the comfort of your home or rush past on your way home from work. What’s key to take into account here, however, is the delivery charges. With two of the big local supermarkets, Pick n Pay and Woolworths having this feature on offer, Justmoney has compared the delivery charges for these stores.

For the purposes of the comparison, Justmoney looks at the cost of delivering the following five items: toothpaste, soap, coffee, coke and biscuits. The brands and weight of items were selected as they are found at both Woolworths and Pick n Pay.

The above costs are correct as of 26 June 2017, but are subject to change.

*These charges time slot dependent, and differ according to your selected time and date of delivery. For the comparison above we selected the 27 June, 11- 12 pm slot.

>Woolworths offers all first time online shoppers free delivery with their first shop. From there onwards charges range between R50 – R95.

Pick n Pay delivery charges

“We keep our delivery charges as low as possible, and delivery costs are based on the time slot chosen. Delivery slots are designed to be flexible to suit customers who work, but would prefer their groceries delivered at home.

“We deliver from Monday to Saturday, between 9am and 8pm, and customers can choose the specific one-hour delivery slot that suits them best. Depending on when an order is placed, delivery can be the next day,” states Michael Cotterell, head of online shopping at Pick n Pay.

See time slots and corresponding charges below for the period 27 June to 3 July:

It is important to note that “when booking your delivery slot, please remember that someone over the age of 18 must be available at the delivery address for the duration of the slot,” adds Pick n Pay.

Woolworths delivery charges

“In general, delivery fees are between R50 and R95. The cost of delivery is will be determined by your delivery address and the items that you have ordered. We offer free delivery for first-time orders and from time to time we may offer free delivery for customers who spend more than a specified amount on their orders,” adds Woolworths.

Delivery times for food items are available for next-day delivery. Clothing, homeware and beauty items are delivered in 3 to 5 days. If your order includes both food and non-food items, you can choose to have your order delivered all together or have your food items delivered earlier, Woolworths stipulates.

If you want to find out if your chosen delivery address falls within the range of delivery, both Woolworths’ and Pick n Pay’s delivery zones are demarcated online.

Which store is cheaper?

Based on the above delivery cost breakdown from both stores, Pick n Pay appears to offer the cheaper delivery cost. This based on the fact that Pick n Pay’s delivery costs range from between R50 and R80, whereas Woolworths could you see spending anywhere between R50 and R95.

Return policy

“We have a simple returns policy. When customers receive an order, we ask that they check the goods they’ve received against their invoice. Any product they wish to return can be marked on the invoice and simply sent back with the driver. Returned items will be refunded within 48 hours,” stated Pick n Pay.

“We want you to be happy with your purchases. If for any reason you’re not, you may return items purchased online to any Woolworths store for a full refund, replacement or exchange, provided you have the original tax invoice, and items are returned in a saleable condition within 60 days of purchase.

“The original tax invoice is the online dispatch note, which you would have received via e-mail. Should you not have an invoice, we will be happy to exchange your purchase at the current system price. Cell phones, cell phone accessories, and certain other items are covered by separate warranties. For hygiene reasons, underwear (excluding bras) and earrings for pierced ears may not be returned or exchanged. Gift cards purchased will not be refunded. Please note that Country Road, Trenery, Mimco and Witchery purchases may only be returned to Woolworths stores that carry these brands. Our delivery agents are not authorised to accept goods for return on delivery,” Woolworths explains.

For further reading: Moneybags’ grocery basket comparisonand Pick n Pay comes out tops in our like-for-like analysis