Chances are, if you didn’t fancy joining the scrum on Black Friday, you are one of the millions about to do their shopping online. But while lower prices (in some cases) and convenience make the internet a good bet, delivery charges can massively hike overall costs.
If buying gifts from Amazon at the last minute, express delivery, which ensures you will receive the item you’ve ordered by 1pm the following day, costs a hefty £8.99, for example.
One way to potentially reduce delivery costs – at any time of the year – is to consider paying a lump sum up-front, rather than separate charges each time you shop. This type of scheme is offered by Amazon and supermarkets including Sainsbury’s, Asda, Ocado, and Tesco. But are they a worthwhile investment?
“An obvious answer is to calculate how many orders you have to place to recover your initial investment,” says Professor Gino Van Ossel of Vlerick Business School.
“However, some schemes offer extra benefits as part of the package. This makes it harder to calculate whether the scheme is favourable. Ask yourself ‘Will I make use of these extra services, and would I otherwise buy them separately?’”
Amazon
Delivery scheme: Prime membership costs £79 a year. It entitles you to unlimited one-day deliveries on more than 7m items and instant streaming of more than 15,000 films and TV episodes through Prime Instant Video.
You can also borrow 500,000-plus books free through the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library, and you get access to Prime Photos which offers free unlimited photo storage in Amazon cloud.
Amazon sparked an outcry from customers earlier this year when it hiked the cost of the Prime service from £49 to £79 because the supposedly “improved” membership included access to Instant Video which many customers didn’t want.
Complaints on the site’s discussion board ran along similar lines to that of customer David Barnett: “I’ve had Prime for years and been happy. Not happy with the price hike as I do not want video streaming. Not going to be renewing my membership.” Another, BA Acheson, wrote: “When I got notification about the massive price rise for Prime I cancelled straight away.”
The company has also come under fire from those who have unwittingly signed up for Prime, or forgotten to cancel their free trial after 30 days, only to be hit with a £79 charge.
However, if you regularly want things in a hurry, and order from Amazon a few times a month, Prime is likely to prove much more cost-effective than paying separate delivery charges. It is particularly good value if you do make use of the TV and film-streaming. Comparable services from Netflix cost from £5.99 a month, so £72 a year – but without free Amazon delivery.
Normal delivery charges: If you spend more than £10 you should qualify for free Super Saver delivery. Items are delivered three to five days after they are dispatched, so you won’t get them the next day as you would with Prime.
If you want first class delivery the cost depends on the item ordered.
For example, music and DVDs are £1.49, while a book is £2.75. Express delivery – arriving before 1pm the next day – is £8.99.
Ocado
Delivery scheme: Anytime Smart Pass usually costs £109.99, but is currently on offer at £69.99.
Ocado also offers a Midweek Smart Pass, which entitles you to free deliveries Tuesday to Thursday. The annual cost is £69.99, but if you want to sign up for six months, you’ll currently pay £14.99, down from the usual £34.99.
As a Smart Pass member, you’ll also get a minimum 10% discount across a range of over 850 shopping essentials, as well as access to 50%-off sales, product samples, anniversary gifts and a subscription to the Ocadolife magazine.
One of the biggest drawbacks for members is that although you get priority access to book Christmas slots, you have to pay for them on top of any Smart Pass charges. All deliveries on 22 December are £8.99 rising to £9.99 on 23 and 24 December.
Normal delivery charges: They vary depending on time, day and availability, but range from nothing to £6.99. On Wednesdays all customers are offered free delivery on orders over £75.
Sainsbury’s
Delivery scheme: There are two types of passes. Anytime Delivery Pass, and a Midweek Delivery Pass which offers slots on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.
The cost differs depending on the length of the pass you choose: three, six or 12 months.
Anytime costs £20, £35 and £60 respectively, while the Midweek is £15, £20 and £35. They both also cover deliveries over the Christmas period.
Sainsbury’s claims you can save up to £190 a year using Anytime and up to £220 on the Midweek price, based on one £5 delivery charge a week over 12 months.
One of the biggest selling points of this scheme is that if, after your pass has expired, your delivery charge savings are not equal to the initial cost of your pass, you’ll be sent a voucher for the difference.
Normal delivery costs: Standard delivery varies depending on the size of the order and delivery slot, but charges range between £1 and £6.95.
Asda
Delivery scheme: Monthly and three-monthly passes cost £5 and £15 respectively. These entitle you to free delivery from Asda, Asda Direct and George. The minimum grocery shop is £40, while for George and Asda Direct it is £10. Christmas delivery slots are also included.
Normal delivery charges: Delivery slots range from £1 up to £6. If you signed up for a £5 monthly pass and had four deliveries over the month which would normally cost £4 each, you’d save £11.
Tesco
Delivery scheme: Monthly Anytime Delivery Saver costs £6 a month for six months, or £60 if you sign up for 12 months. Its Midweek Delivery Saver, which entitles you to deliveries on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, costs £3 a month for six months, or £30 for 12 months.
As a delivery pass member you are eligible for priority access to Christmas delivery, the cost of which is included. However, anyone who signed up after 16 November will only get priority access from next year.
You also get unlimited free delivery on Tesco Direct and Wine by the Case, along with free delivery on F&F clothing until January 2015, subject to a minimum £10 spend.
If your plan costs more than you would have spent on regular delivery charges, you’ll get a grocery eCoupon for the difference.
Normal delivery costs: From £1 up to £6. Tesco claims you could save £252 a year if you sign up for its annual Anytime plan, based on one delivery a week with the maximum £6 delivery charge.
Morrisons and Waitrose
These are the only major supermarkets which don’t offer the option to pay a lump sum for delivery charges upfront.
Morrisons charges £1, £3, or £5, for its one-hour delivery slots, depending on which time of day you want your shopping to arrive.
Waitrose does not impose any charges for delivery, provided you spend a minimum of £60. The supermarket is currently offering £55 off your first five grocery shops at waitrose.com – £15 off your first and £10 off your second, third, fourth and fifth shops.
The offer is available to first-time online grocery orders only, and you must spend at least £100 on each shop. Your first order must be placed for delivery by 5 December, and all orders must be delivered before 9 January 2015 to qualify.
Neither Aldi nor Lidl offer online shopping services.
Prime time
Despite having taken out Amazon Prime membership in error, Sue McNamara, from Lamberhurst in Kent, finds the service good value.
McNamara, 44, works for a technology consulting company and lives with husband John, 49, who owns a marketing consultancy, and their two children, Helena, six, and Felix, four.
She said: “I signed up for the free 30-day trial intending to cancel. I forgot, and hence it rolled into the one-off £79 payment. In fairness to Amazon, the failure is with me, but still it irks.
“That said, there are a couple of areas that make Amazon Prime fly, in my opinion. We use the TV and film-streaming service a lot, and there often seem to be series premieres, such as Alpha House and Ripper Street, that aren’t on TV or other media. “The other thing is the free next-day delivery – I would not be overstating things to say this alone has changed my buying patterns. I buy a lot online, as time is a premium. I like to check the best deal for an item, hate the additional cost of delivery and can’t bear waiting a week for something to arrive.”
