Can you Save by using Alice.es?
So, what is Alice? Basically it’s an online system to buy branded goods; no own-brand supermarket goods are offered. There are various categories such as fresh produce, breakfast foods, bathroom items, etc. or you can look for specific goods in the search box. Prices are clearly shown with the units / weight indicated and there’s even an explanation of each product and the ingredients for foodstuffs (in Spanish).
As regards delivery, you’ll need to spend 120€ to get free delivery. If you don’t reach that threshold then it’s 4.96€ for orders over 60€ or 9.90€ for less. As some savings on individual items compared with supermarkets can be in the order of cents rather than euros, if you’re paying for delivery then you’ll probably end up spending more than you save.
As you can’t see the prices without being registered, first of all you’ll need to register online at www.alice.es Registering is via a relatively simple form asking for your name, email, password and date of birth then you need to tell them the ages of the members of your household. When you get the email to confirm your subscription, simply click on the link. Then you can have a look around the site, see if the brands you use are there and what the prices are. If you want to make an order there and then you can also add stuff that you buy on a repetitive basis to a list so you won’t have to search again in the future.
Produce is guaranteed to still have at least a third of its shelf life when it’s delivered to you, which helps to convince shoppers to buy goods that they normally wouldn’t think about buying online.
Orders are delivered only to mainland Spain at the time of writing. If you order before 1pm you can normally get next day delivery, or you can create your order and request delivery in a period of up to 15 days. Payment can be made by Paypal or credit card.
So, who should use Alice? It’s great for families that have a large consumption of items such as milk, soft drinks, detergent, etc. which are heavy and, if you buy in bulk, you can save and store at home. Of course, having heavy items delivered to your door can often be a saving in itself (and on petrol costs!). Single people may find it harder to save money, as it may be more difficult to reach the free delivery threshold.
However, we suggest you still compare with your local supermarket as special offers at the big players (Alcampo, Carrefour and even Hipercor) may beat Alice. You can also try using Supertruper (link in English); scan the barcode of a product you have at home, see the prices compared online at Supertruper and compare with Alice.
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