How Mobile Grocery Shopping Has Changed the Market

While most mobile grocery shopping sites are set-up to assist you in saving money and time, some may be less secure than they seem. Grocery shopping in any shape or form requires the transaction of money, and for that reason, it is particularly important to ensure your shopping experience is safe — especially when you are entering banking information onto a website directly.

There is no question that there will be an explosion in apps and sites to improve your shopping experience, but it is important to be careful whenever you download a new app from the Play store. As the number of online grocery services multiplies, it is important to ensure that the sites you are visiting — and the apps you are downloading — are safe.

Read More: The Rise of Food Delivery Apps on Your Phone

The Future of Mobile Grocery Shopping
Mobile grocery shopping has been around for a number of years, but it has gotten a huge vote of confidence recently with Amazon’s acquisition of Whole Foods for $13.7 billion, a move more recently approved by the FTC. But what does that mean, and why would Amazon — which is almost an entirely digital store — buy physical locations? What does this mean for the future of grocery shopping?

The answer is that no one is quite sure yet. While online grocery shopping is certainly on the rise — according to a study from 2016, 7.7% of Americans had used online shopping in the last 30 days, as opposed to 5.7% in 2014 — there are still a number of kinks to work out. People primarily use online shopping for items they know they will need on a regular basis, such as common household goods like paper towels, plastic bags, and non-perishable foods. Delivering perishable products will obviously be a more challenging hurdle: Will people expect same-day delivery? If they aren’t around when it’s delivered, how will it stay fresh and safe in the meantime?

These are valid questions, and also likely where the physical retail locations will come into play, though, again, no one is totally sure what this marriage will look like yet. Regardless of the shape it takes, huge companies such as Amazon, Google, and Walmart will solve these challenges eventually, and online shopping will only become more prevalent as the years tick by.