Shopping online

If you've never ordered online before and you're just looking to take one small step towards it - consider registering on Amazon and buying something cheap and small and simple that should fit in an envelope that can go through your letterbox.

My partner just bought a little note pad that we use for writing down shopping items when we use the last one of something and to keep score when we play scrabble - that arrived next day and got poked through the letterbox and we didn't even have to open the door to the delivery driver.

I only shop online if it's something required.

I am more traditional, and prefer heading out; to shop. If I don't head out, once a day, I would go mad with anxiety.

The shift away from cash concerns me; both on a social, and religious, angle. 

Thank you Jenny, seems like everyone sees it as a good thing. Just need to get over the anxiety then I'll be good to do it too :) 

Thank you for sharing, this was very helpful. I'm glad you find it a positive thing to do. I'm sure I will as well in the end :) 

I guess it's if they're out of something and substitute it, that bothers me and expired food as well I worry about things like that and delivery drivers too.

I'm probably overthinking it but I know if I can get over it it'll be so much better for me than going to the shops.

Yes, it makes life so much easier and I actually like it when I build up a list of favourite purchases so's I can reorder very simply.  You might get a discount off your first order too.  

These days i only go into smaller shops locally when I feel like it - picking off-peak times and doing a bit of browsing for smaller items or extra treats.  :) 

Most of our shopping is done online now and there's no way we'd go back to weekly walking round a loud, bright supermarket or browsing though retail stores if we didn't have too.

Sainsbury's for food and general grocery deliveries - but Tesco, Ocado and others all have good delivery services now.

Amazon for pretty much everything else - all the odds and ends of house and work consumables and basically everything else. 

We also have a few good independent online retailers we use for speciality things like spices and ingredients.

Most major outlets have dedicated online stores via their web site or dedicated apps for your mobile device and most of these are pretty good now. 

Purchasing online is very secure and returning goods for refunds is generally a pretty easy process - mostly just dropping it to a local post office or collection spot. 

The service of couriers working for smaller delivery companies that some smaller online retailers outsource to can still be a bit frustrating but I feel like that is improving all the time.

We do still try to visit some of the local cafes and food stores but that's as much about treating ourselves as it is about supporting small local business.

I hope some of that helps! 

I do almost all my shopping online and love it! 

It is so convenient and much better than battling the sensory overload of busy/noisy/bright shops.

The only interaction needed with another human is the delivery. However delivery drivers tend to dump the parcel and run, they don't usually attempt to chat like checkout operators sometimes do.

If you tell us more about what makes you anxious about it maybe we can reassure you.