Folks in the UK and in major French cities have been able to do their food shopping online and have it delivered for a while. But if you live in a small French town, you haven’t been able to do that, until recently. Some supermarkets have started providing an online service recently. It works somewhat differently: they don’t deliver at home but you can order from your computer, and pick it up in your local shop, or in a purpose built warehouse near you.
I had meant to try this service for a while and I have at last done it. We have a Leclerc drive here. It’s not a shop, just a warehouse. You do your shopping online, decide when you want to pick it up, pay and print the receipt. Then, you go to the warehouse, scan the barcode on the receipt, and someone comes out of the building with your shopping and puts it in the boot.
It’s fairly straight forward, although it wasn’t quite clear what you are supposed to do when you arrive at the warehouse. Ordering online was quite easy (providing you have bought things online before). But the shopping was time consuming. I had a shopping list ready, but it still took a lot of time. But at least I was able to do it when I wanted, that is from the comfort of my house, late in the evening (shops close early here). I forgot a few things and still had to go to the shop the next day.
One advantage I found is that I got less distracted by other products on the shelves. There were less temptations to try things out and fill the trolley. But it took a lot of time, maybe because it was the first time. I also missed the human contact. The car park of the warehouse was cold and empty. I only saw the man who came out to bring me my shopping. The overall experience was positive. We might start doing it regularly for a while, complementing with a visit to the shop from time to time for bread and other stuff.