Is shopping an adventure for you or a chore?  More and more Americans are finding that shopping is just one more chore on their list, especially when it relates to groceries.

I personally am a kamikazee shopper–I have my list, I zip through as quickly as I can find the items, and then I’m out the door.  It’s not something I enjoy doing. 

Several stores have made attempts to help by offering online grocery shopping, but for the most part this concept has not taken off.  It is more expensive, in an economy where we are monitoring our spending, and then the delivery is often at an inconvenient time, specifically during our own work hours.

I like what is taking root in France.   You order online from a selection of 7000 products.  Orders are ready for pickup after two hours and can be held for 24 hours. You are guaranteed no more than a five-minute wait upon arrival.  They pack your trunk and home you go. 

Think about the advantages:

• If economy is a priority for you, you can avoid impulse items.  No more shopping after work, hungry and being lured by the junk food aisle.  Distractions are limited.
• Even for those who are kamikazee list-shoppers like me, there is still a time-saving factor. I do not have to guess where they moved the peanut butter. 
• In my time management seminars, I talk about grouping as a productivity tool.  However I cannot say how many times I have criss-crossed the store because my idea of what items should be grouped together does not match theirs.  Theirs is not necessarily wrong.  It is just that we do not think the same way.  Now I can skip doubling back across the store.

The idea is just being tested in the U.S.  where Sears opened its first drive-through in Illinois last spring.  Wal-Mart lets you buy anything online now to pick up in the store, except groceries.  They are studying the possibility of expanding this to groceries also.  However I still have to park and go into the store.

I think this combination of online grocery shopping with personal pickup would have a market in the United States.  I see it as a strong time management tool for workers who have tight schedules and long hours.  You could “shop” on your lunch hour, spend ten minutes after work at the grocery drive-through and have decent food for dinner.  From a health standpoint, it beats doing the drive-through McDonald’s routine.

Check out the French model at Chronodrive.com.  Hopefully I will have a chance to use something similar close to my home in the near future.