Priceline.com Tackles Problem of Grocery Shopping for Budget- Minded
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN ANCHOR: Internet commerce is a growing part of everyday business. And nothing is more everyday than shopping for groceries. Now, one well-known Internet shopping service is tackling that for the budget-minded. More on that from CNNfn's Bill Tucker.</s>BILL TUCKER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For New Jersey mother Teresa Kominkiewicz, shopping for groceries on Priceline.com has cut her bills by at least one third.</s>TERESA KOMINKIEWICZ, PRICELINE.COM CUSTOMER: Normally, I spend about $180, you know, once a week going grocery shopping with Priceline, and then I know, looking at my checklist, that I paid Priceline about $110, $120.</s>TUCKER: The process is simple: Submit a price for a grocery product, and if Priceline accepts it, your credit card is automatically billed. Then when you're done shopping, just head to your nearest participating supermarket and pick up your items. There is no membership fee, but after three months, you will be charged $3 a month if you use the service. But while shopping on-line may save you money, you do sacrifice convenience because, in a way, you are shopping twice.</s>TOD MARKS, "CONSUMER REPORTS": The first shopping experience involves going to the Priceline.com, logging on, wading through the screens and sifting through the menus and clicking on a series of buttons, and then double- and triple-checking those entries. Second time, you go to the store. You have to then cruise the aisles not only looking for specific brands, but looking for specific sizes.</s>TUCKER: And if you happen to be brand-loyal, the Web house club may not be a good match.</s>MARKS: You have to be brand-flexible. You can't say, I want B&M; Baked Beans. You have to be willing to, say, accept Heinz, B&M;, Bush's Beans, and maybe some other brand. So you have to name at least two brands. The more brands you specify, the greater your odds of successfully getting that particular item.</s>TUCKER: "Consumer Reports" recommends using Priceline.com for big-ticket items such as diapers and meat products, which rarely go on sale. That's "Your Money," Bill Tucker, CNN Financial News, New York.