Having tried multiple online grocery shopping competitors such as Tesco delivery, I was very interested in seeing how Ocado, as an online only supermarket, differentiates itself.
So far, I have only had good experiences with online shopping, however, never continued to use the services, as it involves too much planning ahead (such as what meals to cook and what time to be in to receive the delivery). I am more a spear of the moment shopper, which is not ideal when online shopping.
However, I was positively surprised and impressed with Ocado. At first the range feels overwhelming.
It took me a few minutes to get sorted on the website, also due to deals that I didn’t know what they were, such as Smart Pass, Fetch and Sizzle (Picture 1). I found it confusing that there is a list of brands combined with specials (Recipes, Christmas).
But as I went through them, I was especially interested in the receipts page, where I could find receipts specialist on taste and season, which I really enjoyed browsing through.
I then found it very seamless that you could select the items needed to make the dish and add them to your shopping bag. That made my shopping very easy, as I selected a number of recipes, got the ingredients and checked out.
Three things that would have made that experience even more seamless and intuitive would have been:
- With the items in my shopping basket, tell me what other recipes I could cook with them.
- Recommend recipes that I would also like due to the choices I made.
- Show me the products, but not just one item of each product, but also the price range of the other products. For example, feta. I was recommended a feta cheese for £2.99, but when I separately looked for feta I also found one for £1.35. It would have been nice to know what price range there is for that certain product and where I am on that range.
I feel like that could also be individualised, as some people will regularly go for the most expensive, whilst some go for the least expensive and some prefer the light version. Giving recommendations based on past preferences would be an additional benefit and would help negotiate through the large range of products.
Overall, my experience was very good. It was seamless, quick, delivered on time and without any issues.
Additional things to add
How would you rate your overall customer experience at Ocado?
As said, I was very happy with the whole experience. There are a few suggestions I would have to further improve the experience, but overall, I was already very happy.
How happy were you with the product range on the Ocado site? For example, did you manage to find all products you were looking for?
As said, it is quite overwhelming at first. With the recipes it gave me a bit more structure, but even now I feel like I only saw half the range and have forgotten a few things that I would have bought in addition. It would be great to introduce the three suggestions to the recipe function in order to get an even better overview of the product range.
What are your favourite products from the shopping trip?
I have actually had my eye on the cauliflower pizza base for a while and was a little sad that it wasn't available on the site. I was also hoping to find an extra category for healthy food and snacks, such as my favourite product (Ella Energy Ball).
Do you think the products are value for money, worth the money or over-priced?
I think the product and price range is so huge that there is always a choice of less expensive and more expensive products. It is therefore very good value for money.
How likely are you to recommend Ocado?
Very likely!
How likely are you to shop at Ocado again?
Very likely! I like the fact that I can create shopping lists with my favourite products. I am not sure if it already exists, but it would be great if you could receive emails when products on your list go on offer? Or when something is sold out, when it comes back in stock? I also like the delivery times, as they are very early in the morning as well as late in the evening, which helps me a lot to combine work and delivery receiving.