Rocking up to a new country, we often go through the motions of getting to know the neighborhood, the stores, without even thinking about it.
Getting to know the virtual landscape has become almost as important. I've become an avid online shopper because of the convenience plus a knawing thought that I could be paying more offline if I don't do my research. Every time I've moved to a new country this has involved a bit of research and trial and error.
Internationally, local options open up, though global players can also keep you loyal to western brands.
Globally
Iherb – Run out of the US and Asia, they offer supplements, personal care items, groceries, baby/kids, pets, home, and specialty items. Some of our perennial favorites include probiotics, peanut butter, protein bars, shampoo. I've even found some products to be cheaper on their site vs in the land of abundance (USA), like their organic soba.
Amazon – Needs very little introduction, and their global shipping options have continued to expand. If Amazon shipping is not available in your corner of the world, or you want to see if you can save with a different process, try a consolidator. These are services that provide you with a US mailing address, consolidate your Amazon deliveries, and then ship them internationally.
Taobao – The goods you buy that were made in China, might as well come from the source right? The catch is that you will need Chinese fluency (or maybe google translate) to navigate account setup and shopping. This site is similar to the Amazon of China and has spawned a network of English speaking agents who can shop for you.
Aliexpress – Taobao is owned by Chinese internet giant Alibaba, and they have developed a slimmer English version for a global audience.
Korea
The 3rd largest e-commerce market in the world (behind China and the US), living here was undoubtedly a mecca of online shopping.
Coupang – Coupang is the dominant online retailer in South Korea, boasting over half of Korea's residents as customers and delivering 99% of its products within 24 hours. Their delivery options are customizable -if you don't want your doorbell to be rang because a baby is sleeping, then you can specify that. Don't like an item? Sign into the app to return and then leave the item outside your door, no label, no box, nothing. The only catch is that you need a local credit card to take full advantage, which is a bit less friendly to the nomadic passerby or international tourist.
GMarket – Owned by Ebay, Gmarket also offers convenient online ordering. They accept international credit cards, which is a huge plus for foreigners. To be fair they could belong to the global category, but I've found little reason to use them outside of Korea. Maybe if I were a more avid K-beauty shopper I'd look into them.
Homeplus – Most of our online grocery shopping was done here, though a local credit or debit card is required.
Taiwan
Pchome – Don't let the name fool you, this is a broad based online retailer in Taiwan. The site itself is so crowded it gives me a bit of a headache but they do offer 24 hour shipping for most things. It does help to have a local credit or debit card.
Carrefour – Convenient grocery delivery with minimum orders of 800 NTD (less than $30 USD equivalent)
Hong Kong
While many families just had their helpers do the grocery shopping, we did most of ours at these grocery stores:
Marketplace By Jason's
Wellcome
United States
The proliferation of online shopping/delivery options definitely was kickstarted by Amazon's foray into online retail. Nowadays most major stores also have online delivery, or use a delivery service like Instacart, Shipt, Postmates, or Doordash.
Aside from Amazon I find myself shopping at these retailers online the most:
Target – For most dried goods and household items you can order on your the phone app and have it brought out to your car. You can also goto the pickup counter right inside.
Walmart – Bargain basement pricing for the typical household items. I don't tend to buy groceries from here but they do offer convenient grocery pickup to your car. The pickup area inside also is an easy way to order ahead of time and grab what you need.
Costco – Their grocery delivery is run by Instacart, so you will signup for that service if you want groceries. Otherwise a select offering of nonperishables can be delivered within 2 days. All pricing is generally higher than at the warehouse.
Progress
The explosion of delivery services has made buying household goods much more convenient, especially if you have screaming kids to tend to. Technology automates repetitive work for most households. Looking back I'm going to wonder how I survived without online shopping.