How to Grocery Shop in 2022

I’ve been spending time with a childhood friend of mine, who is simultaneously a doctor, wife, daughter-in-law, and mother of two. To say that she’s busy is an understatement. She found herself with a rare opportunity the other day to delight in one of her favorite pre-child pastimes: grocery shopping at Trader Joe’s.

For me, child-free, living in a big city and working from home, going to the grocery store is a necessary outing in which my car is lucky to return scratch free, but the possibilities of a meet-cute are always lingering. For my friend, it’s an opportunity to linger over pre-packaged delicacies inspired by international cuisines a world over.


                                                     The art of subscription sales via Instacart

Are grocery subscriptions recession-proof?
With inflation on the rise, people are again giving up shopping carts and opting for subscription-based food delivery amidst a 10.1% increase in the cost of food. Amidst shoppers filling up their gas tanks at a nearly 50% higher cost, Kroger and Instacart are ramping up their subscription models, resulting in larger numbers of people opting for packed and delivered grocery staples.

Delivered via SPAC
I was lured by $30 off and a free trial to Grove Collaborative, a deliver service for household items and pantry staples. The company just went public via SPAC merger and remains optimistic about the deal in spite of the NASDAQ’s poor performance. IPOs overall are down 37% year-over-year as companies are choosing to stay private longer and avoid the sorry state of the stock market.

Groceries at your door
For those of us not trying to make a love connection in the frozen foods aisle, there are plenty of grocery delivery options available. Good Eggs started as a hyperlocal aggregator of unique and sustainably-minded products and has grown to be the customer-delighting and e-commerce-only alternative to Whole Foods. Hungryroot aims to replace tedious meal planning with thoughtfully-curated grocery lists for easy, healthy meals. Imperfect Foods and Misfits Market are loading up boxes with the ugly squashes that taste just as good in an effort to reduce food waste and turn a profit.

For more e-commerce grocery companies (and there are many), search keywords “grocery” and “e-commerce.”