It's that time of year when we all get a little bit jealous of Santa. He's got a load of little helpers, but for those of us who shoulder the burden of housekeeping throughout the year, the 'holiday' season can seem like anything but. By the time it gets to Christmas Eve the supermarkets are full of stressed looking people - mostly women, sadly - who appear to be on auto-pilot and are madly stuffing their trolleys with anything that comes to hand. At this stage in the proceedings most of them would happily push Santa out of his sleigh and make off with his army of cheerful elves.
However, help is at hand. Virtual help, that is. Online grocery shopping and food delivery services have been on the rise over the last ten years, and at this time of year with the supermarkets heaving and the weather freezing, online shopping is a decidedly enticing alternative. Of course, fresh grocery deliveries are not a new idea; the great British milkman used to be a common sight, if you were up early enough, bringing fresh products direct to your door at competitive prices.
The rise of the supermarket could have been the end of this traditional sight, however, milkmen - and women - are a hardy breed. Anyone who gets up before three in the morning has to possess a certain amount of 'get-up-and-go', and milkmen are the perfect example. Seeing their traditional business under threat, dairies simply diversified. With established rounds to protect, milkmen can now offer an unbeatable food delivery service. While the supermarkets have tried to encroach on this original home delivery service, your local milkmen still has the edge.
The simple fact is that supermarkets are so large that they cannot offer quite the same level of service as a dairy. Their online services are good, there is no denying that, but the delivery slots and cut-off times for ordering don't always fit neatly into our lives. The majority also have a delivery fee, which is only waived if you spend a fairly significant amount with them, and while this is OK for the 'big shop', it makes all the 'little shops' in between unfeasible. This is where our man on his shining white, erm, milk-float comes in!
The advantage to online grocery shopping with your trusty milkman is simply that there is unlikely to be a delivery charge. The chances are that you are already on a milk-round, so the dairy will not need to charge a fee for dropping off the odd tin of cat food or a loo roll! This is the really great part, the number of items that your milkman can deliver is growing, and the lack of delivery fee means that you really can just order one item. For small daily essentials this type of service just can't be beaten, but the product range is now so impressive that you can do away with some of the 'medium shops' as well as the annoying and rather frequent 'little ones'.
But what about delivery slots and ordering cut-offs? Naturally the milkman beats your average supermarket hands down. You can usually order up until nine pm, and you'll have your order the next morning, before you're properly awake. At this time of year the food delivery and online grocery services that your milkman can offer are invaluable. In our pre-Christmas daze it's easy to overlook the small essentials. The range of goods on offer extends to simple things such as bread, right through to cleaning products, kitchen and bathroom goods and all manner of food and drink! A Veg-box is an option available from many suppliers, which means you'll have the freshest sprouts on offer, whether your family like it or not! There is even a range of seasonal gift items available from some suppliers, that will make that last minute stocking filling all the easier!
