Shopping with honestbee.com

I recently became aware of a fairly new shopping site in Singapore called honestbee.com and decided to give them a try for myself. I've used grocery shopping websites before, of course, though primarily when we lived in the UK. Here in Singapore, although I have in the past, I generally tend to just pop to the supermarket near my work or at one of the few that are very close to where we live whenever we need things and just pick them up as and when. However with some of the heavier stuff the thought of delivery is, I admit, far more appealing than lugging it home in weather conditions not generally suited for that type of strenuous exercise.




So what's honestbee.com I hear you ask and what's so special about them? Well the first thing that attracted me was that they offer delivery from various stores rather than just one as is more typical. This obviously gives you a whole load more selection and convenience when you shop. They offer delivery from both Cold Storage and FairPrice but also from a whole host of other shops, think Pet Lovers Centre, Watsons, Crystal Wines, GNC and Gastronomia to name just a few. 

You can also order and have delivery the very same day meaning that theoretically you could order everything you need to cook your favourite meal that evening in the morning and have someone else do all the hard work of going to the supermarket for you. Honestbee have a team of personal shoppers ready to take your shopping list to the store (or stores) of your choice and pick up those items for you once you submit your order. Also they have delivery slots of one hour, again meaning it's far more convenient and less intrusive on your daily life than having to be available for a large chunk of the day waiting for your delivery to arrive! 

Payment is only made after delivery of your goods and like any grocery online delivery service if an item isn't available they offer either the option of the delivery of a substitute or the option not to have the item replaced. Therefore before charging your card they'll make sure any adjustments to your final bill are taken into account.  

So with all this in mind I decided to give them a go for myself. Setting up my new account was incredibly simple, in fact it probably took less than five minutes. For my first delivery I decided to have a delivery on a different day from my day of ordering that was more convenient for me, but at the time I was ordering (late morning on a week day) I could have had my deliveries by late afternoon that same day if I had wanted to. I ordered from two separate stores selecting the same delivery slot for both and after selecting my items and quantities I received confirmation that my order was in process. 

On the day of my delivery (by the way they also deliver on weekends and Public Holidays) about an hour before it was due I received two text messages from the personal shoppers going to the stores I'd ordered from advising me that two items were not available. As I said you don't pay your bill until after delivery has been made and the final bill takes into account any adjustments required. 

Although my deliveries came from two different delivery drivers (because I shopped from two different stores) they arrived at practically the same time right at the start of my hour delivery slot so there was absolutely minimal disruption to my day! At the time of the delivery they just hand your shopping over to you, no fuss and no signing for items etc. The shopping is delivered in Honestbee re-usable bags (though the shopping inside it is still also in the bag from the store you've chosen to shop from) that you can either keep and use again or return on your next shop. Just a few days after receiving my delivery I received my final bill with all the necessary deductions made and charged to the card I registered with my account, so simple and so hassle free!


George checking out the shopping to see what is for him

I'll definitely be using them again, for the heavy items and bigger shops they are perfect and it is so simple to register and subsequently use the site. Of course, I'll still be going to the supermarket (and other stores) as well but it's great to know such a simple, hassle free online shopping service, covering so many different stores, is available. It really is like handing your shopping list to a friend to do it for you. Don't take my word for it though, go try them for yourselves and see if you too aren't converted!


This blog resulted from an invitation to try out honestbee.com's service for myself and represents the thoughts and opinions of the writer. All information on this blog is provided "as is", with no guarantee of completeness, accuracy or timeliness and the writer will not be liable for any losses, injuries or damages from the display or use of this information. All text and photos on this blog are the original works of the writer unless stated otherwise.

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