[tabi] Re: a new internet grocery store
- From: "Allison and Chip Orange" <acorange@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <tabi@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 24 Jun 2009 21:09:42 -0400
thanks so much for telling us.
maybe I could write some window eyes scripts to make it work better; I'll
look at it when I can.
Chip
-----Original Message-----
From: tabi-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:tabi-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf
Of Betsy
Sent: Wednesday, June 24, 2009 8:59 PM
To: tabi@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [tabi] Re: a new internet grocery store
This site has great potential, but my first 45 minutes with it have been a
little frustrating. I had to load window eyes to even see the sign up
process and it still wasn't labeled very well so had to guess what they
wanted in the fields. Lots of trial and error. So far, browsing is tedious
and I cannot add products to my list; nothing happens, but the selection is
good and I'll keep playing until I figure it out.
All that to say, not too user friendly yet, but I think it will be worth the
effort to make it work.
Betsy
----- Original Message -----
From: Chip Orange <mailto:Corange@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: tabi@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Tuesday, June 23, 2009 3:10 PM
Subject: [tabi] a new internet grocery store
Hi all,
here's a very interesting article from unclutterer.com
Convenient dry goods delivery from Alice.com
A couple months ago, I was given the opportunity to be a beta-beta
tester for
Alice.com
. (A gamma tester?) It's a dry goods grocery delivery service where
you place an
order online and then have the items shipped directly to your home.
The prices are comparable to what you might find in a big box store
like Costco or
Sam's Club, but the products are sized like what you would buy in a
grocery store
or pharmacy. All with the added convenience of not having to go to a
store (and there
is no charge for shipping). You can set up a shopping list and
reminders, so that
every few weeks or a couple times a year (you set the schedule) you
receive a notification
from Alice.com telling you that you might be getting low on toilet
paper or deodorant
or shampoo.
I've gone shopping on Alice, paid for my order, and received a
shipment. For as much
as I ordered, I was genuinely surprised at how little packaging they
used. It all
fit in a reasonably sized box and the box broke down easily to go
into our recycling
bin. Everything about the process was convenient.
wp-content/uploads/090623-alice2.jpg
And I think that is why I liked it so much. It's convenient. I'm
incredibly busy
and the last thing I want to do is have to run to the store to pick
up toilet paper
when we inevitably run out at 10:00 at night. Now, I get a notice
once a month asking
me if I need toilet paper, and if my supplies are low, I order more.
I make a few
clicks with my mouse in less than a minute and toilet paper appears
two days later.
Right now, since they're still in beta, they're only carrying the
major brands. But,
they're in negotiations with smaller manufacturers to increase their
inventory. They
actually carried my favorite brand of all of the supplies I ordered,
so I didn't
notice that anything was missing. During testing, though, I noted
one or two types
of products that weren't on their inventory and
poof!
after I suggested the product it appeared on the list a few days
later. So, I know
they're listening to consumer requests. The interface is easy to
use, too, and these
cute little cartoon people guide you through the site:
wp-content/uploads/090623-alice3.jpg
I think about my friends who have infants at home and barely have
time to shower,
and how nice it would be for them if diapers just appeared on their
doorsteps. I
think about my friends who live in downtown New York who have to
take 20 minute train
rides to get to the closest big box store, and how much time it
would save them if
their dry good items could simply be delivered. Since I buy the vast
majority of
my food through our local farmer's market, Alice.com saves me from
having to make
a second shopping trip to the grocery store. It's extremely
convenient for busy people.
It removes an errand/chore from my weekly schedule and allows me to
spend that time
doing something that matters more to me. It's simple and
uncluttered, for my life.
Granted, this service isn't for everyone. If you like going to the
grocery store
and smelling products and first touching what you're going to buy,
then you won't
like getting your dry goods delivered. It also takes 15 to 20
minutes to put together
your initial order (at least that is what it took me) which isn't
much of a time
saver on that first trip. Subsequent trips are just seconds,
however, since you have
an established shopping list. Also, if you buy a lot of small
production goods, it
might take a while for those to become available as contracts are
negotiated between
Alice and those manufacturers.
What do you think about dry goods being delivered to your door? To
me, it's a lot
like Netflix or Amazon, just with the specific grocery angle. If
you're interested
in trying it for yourself, you can sign up for a free account and be
a beta tester,
too, at
Alice.com
Check out the TABI resource web page at http://acorange.home.comcast.net/TABI
to unsubscribe send a message, containing a subject line of the word
unsubscribe, to tabi-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
if you'd like to unsubscribe you can do so through the freelists.org web
interface, or by sending an email to the address tabi-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
with the word "unsubscribe" in the subject.
Other related posts:
