Do you work long hours or is the commute to and from your workplace time consuming? If you’re one of the many singles, couples or families living in Dubai who have answered yes to the above – online grocery shopping may provide a much needed respite to you in terms of time and energy. The Souqalmal.com team has gone undercover yet again – and this time it is about online grocery shopping.  Which online grocery store to pick ? We find out.  Our team has picked the top three online supermarkets in Dubai:  Trolley.ae, supermart.ae and Geant Online. We compare them for pricing, delivery options and timeliness, payment methods, user-friendliness and we tell you how our experience was with each offering.

What’s the price?

First things first, we compare the most essential parameter – how competitive is the pricing?

Here’s a look at ten basic products from the grocery store and what they cost:

Product Trolley.ae Supermart.ae Geant Online
Low fat fresh milk 1 ltr from Almarai AED 7 AED 6.50 AED 6
Sunwhite Calrose Rice 1 kg AED 11.50 AED 10.50 AED 9.95
Nezo fine table salt AED 5 for 750 gms AED 4.50 for 600 gms AED 4.50 for 600 gms
Sunflower oil 1.8 ltr from Afia AED 25.25 AED 27.75 AED 22.95
Local tomatoes 1 kg AED 8.50 AED 7.50 AED 6.95
Indian red onions 2 kg AED 10 AED 10 AED 7.75
Kelloggs Corn Flakes AED 22.75 for 750 gms AED 13.75 for 375 gms AED 28.75 for 1 kg
1 packet white bread slices – L’usine AED 5 AED 5 AED 5.95
 Saha large white eggs AED 10.75 for 15 pcs AED 10.50 for 15 pcs AED 27.75 for 30 pcs

Trolley.ae

On Trolley.ae you can buy groceries, cleaning equipment, beauty products, baby care commodities, items for pets and even Etisalat or Du recharge cards. Overall, we really liked the user interface of Trolley.ae. It was easy to use, well organized in terms of categories and even adding to cart was a very swift process. One slight drawback with of the site is that they do not have a wide variety of products that you would otherwise find at supermarkets. This is the only site that does not allow you to pay by credit card at delivery but you can do so online as you complete your purchases.

Thumbs up for: 

  • Very easy to use interface and simple navigation.  Took a few seconds to find item that we were looking for
  • Being able to schedule delivery date and time either the same day or later
  • Online chat for help.
  • The ‘order history’ tool which remembered what was ordered the first time.  You can view your order history and re-order either the whole or the selected list.  The best part was while you browse the site the second time, all products you ordered before are marked as “already purchased” – makes it easy for regulars
  • The ‘My favourites’ list where select products can be kept for future orders.
  • The option to choose a different address to the one that is already registered.  So for those who work, you can either choose the address at work for delivery or home address delivery.
  • A confirmation email which comes before the delivery keeping you updated of your order whereabouts.
  • Wide range of delivery zones – all the way up till Business Bay.
  • There is a 100% refund policy with no questions asked !

Thumbs down for:

  • Variety is not as vast as the others. Trolley.ae is not connected to any supermarket so they have to source out the products.
  • There was no express delivery that we could request

Supermart.ae

Supermart.ae offers groceries, health and beauty items, electronics, baby care products, stationery and magazine. There is also an organic or gluten free section, a pet shop and miscellaneous household items such as barbecue appliances. When we placed an order on Supermart.ae, were impressed with speed at which they delivered the items. And we were also given the option to pay with a credit card upon delivery. But one thing to bear in mind is that you do not have the freedom to schedule delivery at a time of your choice.  You order now and it come to you in the next 45 – 90 mins. We also found the constant pop-ups  post every item added to the cart recommending similar products to be rather distracting.

Thumbs up for: 
  • A huge variety of product. Supermart.ae has it’s own supermarket so you have a very good choice of products, including fresh produce.
  • The option to pay by cash or credit card on delivery.
  • The option to choose a different address to the one that is already registered.  So for those who work, you can either choose the address at work for delivery or home address delivery.
  • You can view your order history and re-order either the whole or the selected list.
  • New shoppers get a 10% discount on their first shopping.
  • If you are in a hurry, they are the option to go with ! They even allow you to track your order and send you an email everytime there is a status update from awaiting pick up to Dispatched to Delivered.

Thumbs down for:

  • A few distracting widgets such as the one which bring up similar products every time you add a product to the cart and requires you to keep shutting the pop up box.
  • Since delivery is within 45 to 90 minutes from the time you place your order you cannot schedule a delivery.

Geant Online

With Geant online you can buy groceries as well as electronics online. We liked that with Geant’s online supermarket that you can schedule delivery within two hour slots on the same day.  However, we did find the interface somewhat difficult to use and find the products we were looking.  There were a few too many clicks to get to what we needed.

Thumbs up for: 

  • Online chat for help.
  • Many payment options such as cash or card on delivery or credit card online.  (unfortunately the machine was not working)
  • You can schedule delivery in any of the two hour time slots from the day you order  – up to three days.
  • The confirmation call came within 30 mins of placing the order online.  It was the one with the most comfort that the order has actually been processed (especially if it is the first time)
Thumbs down for:
  • Interface was tough to use and site loaded very slowly. Hunting for categories took some getting used to and turned out to be time consuming.
  • While the website remembers your previous order history, you cannot reorder selected parts of the list. The whole list has to be re-ordered.

An overview

Criteria Trolley.ae Supermart.ae Geant Online
Free delivery requires a minimum order amount of? AED 100 AED 50 AED 100
Cost of delivery when minimum amount not ordered? AED 10 AED 5 AED 10
Payment methods
  • Cash on delivery
  • Credit card online
  • Cash on delivery
  • Credit or debit card on delivery
  • Bank transfer/cheque (For corporate accounts)
  • Credit card online
  • Cash on delivery
  • Credit Card on delivery
Delivery timings
  • 10:00 am to 10:00 pm.
  • However, orders placed after 8:30 pm are processed for the next day.
  • Schedule of time and days available
  • 7:30 am to 11:30 pm
  • Delivers within 45-90 mins
  • You can pick from multiple delivery slots across three days (inclusive of the day you place the order).
  • Delivery time slots are of two hours each from 10:00 am to 10:00 pm.
Delivery areas Select areas of Dubai Select areas of Dubai Select areas of Dubai 
Refund and return policy
  • Trolley.ae claims to have a 100% no questions asked replacement policy.
  • For replacement or refund you are required to contact the company on email, live chat or phone.
  • Products may be returned or replaced only if they are damaged or wrong.
  • Geant promises that the item will be replaced without any additional delivery charges.
  • For credit card payments, the store promises a credit reversal within 24 hours.
  • For the ‘pay on delivery’ option, the price of damaged/wrong product will be deducted from the final bill.