I would gladly buy more groceries online. It is convenient, saves time and ought to work very well. But one thing stops me: I want to be able to check the freshness of what I buy myself.
The bread I receive is often not baked today. Not even yesterday. Milk and other fresh groceries have less shelf life remaining than I would have chosen in the shop. It leaves me feeling that online customers receive what the shop most wants to get rid of.
I cannot know how the picking is done. But as a customer, I see the result—and it makes me less inclined to order again.
When I shop myself, I can read the date label, feel the bread and assess the vegetables. When someone else picks my groceries, I need to be able to trust that person to choose with the same care. Otherwise, much of the value of the service disappears.
A shorter shelf life should mean a lower price
There is nothing wrong with selling food that is approaching its best-before date. On the contrary, it is good if the food gets eaten. But customers should then be told what they are buying and pay accordingly.
As the Swedish Food Agency explains, food can be perfectly edible even after its best-before date. That does not mean, however, that I want to pay the same price for older bread as for freshly baked bread.
By all means offer yesterday’s bread at a discount. Sell short-dated milk more cheaply. Let me choose.
Charging full price and letting customers discover the short shelf life only when the bags are standing in the hallway is a good way to destroy trust. Especially when a customer may shop online precisely because it is difficult to get to the shop and arrange an exchange.
A guarantee is no substitute for care
Some shops offer guarantees. ICA Kvantum’s fresh-food guarantee, for example, also covers online purchases. That is good. But I would rather receive good groceries from the start, without having to spend time complaining.
Trust has to be in the grocery bag
Shops should state clearly how much remaining shelf life they guarantee and offer an active choice of discounted short-dated groceries. For bread, I also want to know when it was baked.
Until then, I will continue to choose for myself the groceries for which freshness matters.
Do you want fresh groceries and the ability to choose for yourself? Buy them in the shop, if you can. Check the dates, choose the bread you actually want and let shops know why fresh groceries are missing from your online order.
Those who cannot shop for themselves should, of course, be able to make the same demands. Needing home delivery is no reason to have to accept inferior groceries.
If you want me to leave the choice to you, you must show that you choose as carefully as I do.
This translation was prepared with AI assistance. The original featured illustration was AI-generated.
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