We all know how hard it is to make ends meet right now, and with the cost of living steadily increasing, we may find ourselves digging deeper into our pockets at the checkout.

While it is hard to get the most bang for your buck when it comes to necessities, many Aussie shoppers have found that buying in bulk online curbed their expenses upon checkout.

This approach has become popular for families who’d like to save more on their bills. Many have also made the switch to online bulk purchases as shopping online is convenient, especially for shoppers who cannot go to the supermarkets on their own or have a hard time travelling.

In one household, Alexandra and Zac Cain, along with their three children, noticed that their grocery bills rose from $300 to $500.

'A lot of fresh fruit and vegetables, but usually just the snacks, the school lunchboxes [are] a massive dent,' Alexandra said.

'Everyday, making the lunchboxes, we need things on the go to grab out of the cupboard. Just buying everything in bulk, I don't have to worry about dishwashing tablets for a couple of months.’

Zac continued: ‘I find it a lot easier to compare pricing online...It's harder to do in person.’

Many families are switching to buying groceries in bulk online. Credit: Unsplash

Bulk buy groceries have also overtaken clothing and apparel as the number one category on the shopping platform, Catch. Popular items include dishwashing tablets, muesli bars, chips and milk powder.

Catch Managing Director Brendan Sweeney is certainly seeing the trend, too.

'What we're seeing is a really big swing to people trying to save money on everyday essential items,' he said.

The company also saw a large increase in purchases of pantry bargains, such as pet food, cat litter, and coffee pods on their platform. They said that the increase in sales in this category proved that these items had sold more than traditional top sellers like Birkenstocks and Asics.

According to Retail Expert Gary Mortimer, not every family can afford to buy upfront costs of bulk purchases. But he suggested that shoppers who don't want to buy in bulk but want to save on smaller costs can buy in bulk and split the costs with their families and friends.

'One of the options around would be to form a co-op, you know, with family and friends, to buy in bulk, then simply split the costs when you get home,' Mortimer said.

Catch’s daily orders are expected to increase to 10,000 in the lead-up to the Christmas period. Several families, including Alexandra and Zac, prefer to do their Christmas shopping earlier.

'That is one of the things we find helpful is to try and start earlier and spread that cost out across the year...It does help going into December,' said Zac.

'Just to get ahead and to save money now because I am going to need that money in December,' Alexandra shared.

It’s no secret that food prices have soared high, and grocery bills can spiral out of control. But a financial expert cracked the code to spend less on groceries without having to compromise too much. She challenged four-person families to cut their grocery bills by doing this challenge!

You can check out this story here.

Key Takeaways

• As the cost of living crisis worsens, many Australians are buying groceries in bulk and online to curb expenses.
• Bulk buy groceries have overtaken clothing and apparel as the number one category on the shopping platform, Catch.
• A significant increase in sales for pantry bargains has been observed on this platform.
• Retail Expert Gary Mortimer suggests families join physically and financially to make bulk purchases and then divide costs at home.
  

Have you tried buying in bulk online? How was your experience? Let us know in the comments below!

 

[MariaG]

If I had a family to cater for, I would definitely go to a bulk buy situation.
With just the two of us at home, the need is not there for us any more.
One thing we did during our need for more days was buy fruit and veg by phone from a wholesaler in pre packed boxes. Then we divided the purchase up between 2 adjoining neighbours and ourselves. Proved to be a good cost cutting exercise.
It's not that difficult to get group buying going. We only had to work out logistics like payment up front, who was ordering, who was receiving , and away we went. Also important to keep it amongst people who know each other well. No strangers.
I see lots of things posted online about amazing cost cutting tips. The only difference between now and then is social media.
In the end, my experience has been, where there is a will, there is a way.

 

[Luckyus]

We all know how hard it is to make ends meet right now, and with the cost of living steadily increasing, we may find ourselves digging deeper into our pockets at the checkout.

While it is hard to get the most bang for your buck when it comes to necessities, many Aussie shoppers have found that buying in bulk online curbed their expenses upon checkout.

This approach has become popular for families who’d like to save more on their bills. Many have also made the switch to online bulk purchases as shopping online is convenient, especially for shoppers who cannot go to the supermarkets on their own or have a hard time travelling.

In one household, Alexandra and Zac Cain, along with their three children, noticed that their grocery bills rose from $300 to $500.

'A lot of fresh fruit and vegetables, but usually just the snacks, the school lunchboxes [are] a massive dent,' Alexandra said.

'Everyday, making the lunchboxes, we need things on the go to grab out of the cupboard. Just buying everything in bulk, I don't have to worry about dishwashing tablets for a couple of months.’

Zac continued: ‘I find it a lot easier to compare pricing online...It's harder to do in person.’

Many families are switching to buying groceries in bulk online. Credit: Unsplash

Bulk buy groceries have also overtaken clothing and apparel as the number one category on the shopping platform, Catch. Popular items include dishwashing tablets, muesli bars, chips and milk powder.

Catch Managing Director Brendan Sweeney is certainly seeing the trend, too.

'What we're seeing is a really big swing to people trying to save money on everyday essential items,' he said.

The company also saw a large increase in purchases of pantry bargains, such as pet food, cat litter, and coffee pods on their platform. They said that the increase in sales in this category proved that these items had sold more than traditional top sellers like Birkenstocks and Asics.

According to Retail Expert Gary Mortimer, not every family can afford to buy upfront costs of bulk purchases. But he suggested that shoppers who don't want to buy in bulk but want to save on smaller costs can buy in bulk and split the costs with their families and friends.

'One of the options around would be to form a co-op, you know, with family and friends, to buy in bulk, then simply split the costs when you get home,' Mortimer said.

Catch’s daily orders are expected to increase to 10,000 in the lead-up to the Christmas period. Several families, including Alexandra and Zac, prefer to do their Christmas shopping earlier.

'That is one of the things we find helpful is to try and start earlier and spread that cost out across the year...It does help going into December,' said Zac.

'Just to get ahead and to save money now because I am going to need that money in December,' Alexandra shared.

It’s no secret that food prices have soared high, and grocery bills can spiral out of control. But a financial expert cracked the code to spend less on groceries without having to compromise too much. She challenged four-person families to cut their grocery bills by doing this challenge!

You can check out this story here.

Key Takeaways

• As the cost of living crisis worsens, many Australians are buying groceries in bulk and online to curb expenses.
• Bulk buy groceries have overtaken clothing and apparel as the number one category on the shopping platform, Catch.
• A significant increase in sales for pantry bargains has been observed on this platform.
• Retail Expert Gary Mortimer suggests families join physically and financially to make bulk purchases and then divide costs at home.

Have you tried buying in bulk online? How was your experience? Let us know in the comments below!

It's been my experience that unless you knw the supplier, not to bother buying clothing online as thyare generally the type that you can wash with a spittle and dry with a fart?

 

[terri]

My issue with buying from Catch is their high delivery costs. Unless you join their buying scheme, which costs you each month, you pay delivery. When you add that onto the purchase may not always be cheaper. Just my opinion.