The Housewife Speaks

Sometimes, the weekend is so short, that we have no extra time to squeeze in for grocery shopping. And even if we do so, it would be very rush, and we only make it to those that open 24 hours.

Having said that, grocery shopping remains one of my favourite ever since I became a Mrs. And those that know me well would know that I ONLY shop at either Cold Storage or Market Place. The bigger, more swanky NTUC could make it to my list, but Shop & Save is out. And I would NEVER step foot into Sheng Siong unless I have to go save a life there.

No, it's not that I'm atas or what. To me, grocery shopping is not just getting what we need for the house. It's about the shopping experience that I look out for and value. The way the shelves are arranged, the way the products are categorised and the flow/sequence of product placement.

Even the lighting places an important role - white glaring lights are a turn-off. The range of produce available differs too, I NEVER find any fresh basil or oregano at Shop & Save, only flies hovering over the "fresh" seafood and vegetables.

Much as I would like to, we sometimes really cannot afford the time. And since shopping online is so absolutely convenient, I thought the auntie in me would check out Cold Storage online.

It would have been a very viable alternative, given that the whole idea is actually quite neat, if not for the limited range of products available. There could even be some savings, some products being slightly cheaper online than at retail. More so, the brands that I usually trust and go for are not available.

In the end, I could only find these necessities, whilst the rest of the things I needed were not online.




So, until they are able to put the entire Cold Storage store online, I would still stick to visiting the supermarket in person. This actual experience of seeing and touching the products, reading about them, contemplating whether or not to buy cannot be replaced by the mere clicking of the mouse and convenience.