I take special pleasure in trips to the grocery store. Wandering the aisles, reading labels, tasting samples (if I’m lucky)—these are a few of my favorite things. But not everyone wants to waste their time on such pursuits. Many others prefer to spend their time actually eating instead of just looking at packages of food. That’s where grocery delivery company Peapod.com comes in.

The Skokie-based company has been allowing customers to hand-pick their groceries in an online store since 1998. Bright green vans, emblazoned with the company logo and impossible to miss in rush hour traffic, deliver orders right to customers’ doors--tens of millions of them, in fact. Now, Consumer Reports’ Aug/Sept 2012 article “Tame Your Grocery Bill” has placed Peapod at the top of its list of money-saving grocery sites.

(Image via Practical Ecommerce)

“When we started this company in 1989 we had a vision to make people's lives easier. We could never have imagined then that Peapod would grow into what it is today,” said Peapod cofounder Thomas Parkinson. “We are so proud that we can help our customers shop smarter and healthier. By giving them the tools they need, our customers can stay on a budget while providing good quality, healthy options for their families.”

A press release from the company details the ways Peapod does just that. They are:

• My Specials: Peapod's 'My Specials' feature saves a list of your past purchases and displays the items you routinely buy that are currently on sale.
• Weekly Specials: Customers can shop the 'Weekly Specials' exclusively in every department.
• Store Brand Savings: Peapod's deep selection of store brands means that you can also achieve deep savings.  According to Consumer Reports, "Buying store brands instead of big national brands of groceries can save you up to 60 percent."
• Checkout Counter: The site's shopping cart displays a running total of your order as you shop – so no guessing as to whether you're above or below your budget.  You can manage your spending as you go.
• Delivery Discounts: You can also receive delivery discounts simply by choosing a delivery time when Peapod trucks are already scheduled to be in your neighborhood.

Peapod has grown from a small family business to the leading Internet grocer in the country. “The success of Peapod is really a tribute to the Podsters that built it over the last 23 years,” according to Parkinson. “Peapod is still a family business for me when I think about how much fun it is to work with everyone there. The business success is just the output of that.”

In addition to its website, Peapod has also got a mobile app and solutions for train commuters in Chicago and Philadelphia. As much as I love prowling the grocery store, using train time to virtually shop for goods (a la this Tesco subway grocery store in South Korea) seems too convenient to resist.