Owensboro Residents Say Grocery Pickup Has Changed Their Lives

I was scrolling through Facebook the other day and saw a post from my friend Olivia Smith.   It caught my attention because I instantly related to it. 

Olivia said- I just picked up groceries and meds from Kroger and Sam's Club without leaving my car and home in 30 minutes. Has grocery pick up changed yall's lives? It has mine.

A lot of people I know feel the exact same way.  The pandemic year forced many of us into using grocery store pickup services like ClickList at Kroger.  And, while it may have taken some time to get used to it (learning how to build your list online, taking advantage of digital coupons, navigating the website to find the exact products you're used to purchasing), the payoff was absolutely worth it. 

Who knew that grocery shopping from home could be so darn convenient??  You simply place your order from home.  Then, as if it's magic, someone else does the shopping for you.  You choose your pickup time and head to the store.  Once you're there. you don't have to go in.  Al you have to do is pull up to a parking spot, let the staff know you've arrived and they'll bring your groceries out to your car and load them in!  There's no going inside.  There's no getting stopped by people you know and doubling the time you're in the store.  There are no impulse buys.  And there's no waiting at the self-checkout lanes and or for a cashier.

It's amazing!  And, I'll confess it.  During 2020, I rarely went into a grocery store.  We relied on grocery pickup and it saved me infinite amounts of time and, even more importantly, money.

Olivia called the morning show today to share experiences.  By the way, Olivia has four kids.

My friend Christy Dalton (who I call "Slugger", by the way) has quite a side hustle because demand for grocery delivery has grown infinitely.  Christy works for a personal shopping service and makes considerable amounts of money by shopping for folks here in Owensboro-Daviess County.  They send in their list.  Christy accepts it, heads to the grocery store and shops for the items on it, then hand-delivers the order to their house.

Christy has several older clients who don't drive and can't really lift their groceries.  So, she is happy to do that for them.  Conversely, there are plenty of younger families with lots of kids.  Christy says, "They don't want to take four kids to the grocery.  That's a nightmare."  Plus, she adds what I have experienced myself with grocery shopping online.  "Grocery delivery is probably saving them lots of money."

In a normal week, Christy shops for and delivers between ten and fifteen orders.  She adds, "The people I shop for are always awesome.  So very nice.  Thankful. Appreciative of the service."

And, for Slugger, shopping is social, fun and she loves it.  She says, "I'm on a first name basis with the Meijer workers and Target."  The situation is undoubtedly win-win.  "It's a way for me to work when I want and help people at the same time."

What about you?  Has grocery pickup or delivery changed your life?