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[Collection]: Shanghai’s Online Supermarkets
2022-03-25 12:00:00
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Featured
Epermarket
Delivery Only
400 776 0776
Epermarket is the go-to option for expats looking to order groceries from an English-language ordering interface. Their selection is huge, from fresh meats and vegetables, to beverages, breakfast cereals and snacks, pastas and even Halal products from all over the world. They stock plenty of imported groceries you wouldn’t easily find at the local grocery shops. Some of the stuff is more pricy but they usually offer seasonal deals and loyalty programs, and again, it’s a convenient to order in English, and even French if you need to. Their customer service also operated in these languages. Unfortunately, delivery is usually for next day only. -
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Hema
8 locations in Shanghai:
- Hema Food Market (Pudong Nan Lu) - B1/F, 1138 Pudong...
- Hema Food Market (KiNG88) - B1/F, 88...
- Hema Food Market (Hongqiao Lu) - 1665 Hongqiao Lu,...
- Hema Food Market (Tianlin Dong Lu) - 75 Tianlin Dong...
- Hema Food Market (Yude Lu) - 165 Yude Lu,...
- He Xiao Ma (Zhonghai Huanyuhui) - B1/F, Lane 838...
- Hema Food Market (Sinar Mas Plaza) - Sinar Mas Plaza,...
- Hema Food Market (189 Nong) - LG2/F, Lane 189...
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Another offensive in Alibaba’s path to retail world domination, Hema garnered a lot of buzz when they launched in 2017 for being the first large-scale instant delivery supermarket in China that also delivers fresh seafood and meats. It’s a local supermarket so their stock of Western / imported items isn’t great — it’s not the place where you order cold cuts or cheese, for example. But they’ve got pretty much everything else. They have their own delivery team and their app lets you pick the time slot. It’s free delivery for the first order per day but if you’re price sensitive, it’s better to see which platform has the best deal on a given product. Some items here are actually quite pricey. Since it’s owned by Alibaba obviously only Alipay is available. For delivery, download their app on iOS or Android at 盒马. -
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Featured
Sam's Club (Qingpu)
Lane 483 Yejin Lu, near Jiasong Nan Lu
业锦路483弄, 近嘉松南路
6975 9399
Sam's Club is an American membership wholesale club. Memberships are cheap, 260rmb per year and the savings you get is worth it. You can order delivery directly from their MiniProgram, or their English app which is nicely designed and easy to use. Unlike most of the delivery options in the city, they have two delivery standards: “one-hour delivery” (across the city, which is incredible logistics) and “standard delivery,” which has more options to choose from but is usually next-day. Sam's is great for bulk-buying, so if you're going into lockdown for 14 days, or you know you'll be working from home for a while, you'll get high-quality goods for lower prices. And, the steaks... you just can't beat the pricing on the steaks. Oh, and the calamnsi juice, definitely get that too. -
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Swiss Butchery (Wulumuqi Lu)
86 Wulumuqi Zhong Lu, near Anfu Lu
乌鲁木齐中路86号, 近安福路
5223 5629
Swiss Butchery is a Shanghai-started success story butchery with serval locations in Shanghai now. Specializing in imported meat products and accessories thereof, Swiss Butchery has managed to weather the disruptions to supply lines in recent years on their largely imported stock and is the go-to option for families looking for Western imported meat products from an operation that values food safety and accountability. Products are European-import heavy, of course, with also lots of meat and seafood from Australia, New Zealand and North America. With a staff of erstwhile professional chefs at the cutting boards, they can also offer cooking advice and even recipe suggestions. Their app is a good one to follow if you’re looking for new ideas for the dinner table. -
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ALDI (Jing'an)
1/F, Jing'An Sports Center, 428 Jiangning Lu, near Wuding Lu
静安体育中心1楼, 江宁路428号, 近武定路
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The German retailer that Americans know as “Trader Joe’s” was a very warmly welcomed addition to the Western groceries options, demonstrating to CityShop and co. that imported groceries don’t have to be super expensive. They aren’t as cheap as they are known for being back home but it’s still a good place to find lots of good deals, including a nice selection of wine and beers. If you’re forever living the college student lifestyle, they have an actually decent ready-to-eat section of meals and their own bakery with passable German pretzels. Instant delivery is available through their bilingual MiniProgram and usually arrives within the hour. They’ve expanded massively since they launched a few years ago to 26 stores, so they cover most of Shanghai for delivery. -
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Times Grocery (Huangyang Lu)
57 Huangyang Lu, near Biyun Lu
黄杨路57号, 近碧云路
5838 5609 / 6608 0572
Times Grocery launched their online grocery delivery platform in 2019, but their physical stores have been around the city since 2007. They constantly bring in new selections of imported products to their shelves, so it’s a steady option for expats looking for a taste of home… and the multilingual interface in English, French and Chinese helps, too. Their fresh produce, meats and seafood are pretty solid. Delivery options include same day delivery and a sweet one-hour(ish) delivery option if you’re within 3km of their physical stores. One caveat: as items are pulled off their physical stores for deliveries, you’ll be contacted should something from your cart be unavailable at the last minute. It’s happened to us once to twice; be assured they’ll offer you a similar replacement, a refund or store credit. Thumbs up to their Wechat Customer Service, who are prompt and reliable when it comes to replying to any queries. -
Yingos
Online only
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Yingos was started by a South American guy to do BBQ for people in Shanghai. Then he started selling his supply. In addition to just doing grill-outs, now he’s a reliable option for great value cuts, like Argentinian Black Angus skirt steak and picanha cuts, as well as things like center-cut tenderloins and Australian tomahawks. In addition to that, he’s got a small selection of Australian M6 Wagyu in the usual cuts (strip, ribeye) and a whole section of what he calls “second cuts” — the kinds of things you don’t usually find retail, like chuck roll, tail of rump, whole black pork bellies, Iberico pork ribs and lamb from both Inner Mongolia and New Zealand. His chicken comes from South America as well (Chile, Brazil or Argentina) and he’s one of the only places you’ll find Spanish-style blood sausage (morcilla). He’s even got venison. And a selection of affordable wines to pull the whole meal together. -
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Le Garde Manger
Online only
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Le Garde Manger was launched during the first Covid wave in 2020. The company behind it, Classic Fine Foods (owned by Metro), is the largest supplier of hotels in China. When hotels had to close, they needed a way of selling their stock, so Le Garde Manger was born. Their selection isn’t huge and many items you have to buy in wholesale portion size but they stock lots of interesting things you wouldn’t find elsewhere at often very interesting prices. They operate their own cold-chain delivery fleet — the same that deliver to hotels — so their standards of freshness and hygiene are great, which means it’s a very safe option for dairy and seafood. As the name suggests, there is a heavy focus on French products. Subscribe to their WeChat account to get recipes and cooking inspirations using the ingredients they sell. Next day delivery. Ordering interface is in English and Chinese. -
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Dingdong Maicai
1010 3365
Hema isn’t the only local Chinese instant delivery option anymore. The market is actually quite crowded now and there are plenty of options that are beating Hema on price. DingGong Mai Cai is one of them, a Sequoia capital company, that supposedly IPO’ed on the US stock exchanged after only being founded in 2017. It’s very similar to Hema. They focus on domestic food, including fruit, meat, snacks, condiments, and more. Pricing is quite affordable and their products are very fresh. They also offer plenty of easy-to-cook options. To access the shop, download their app: 叮咚买菜. -
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Bailian Daojia
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Bailian Group is China’s largest retail groceries group. In Shanghai you know them from the Lianhua supermarkets. Bailian Daojia is basically Lianhua delivered to your home. Unlike Hema and Dingdong, which cover a rounded selection of products on their online markets, Bailian only delivers a range of necessities (mostly food, plus some kitchenware) that are available in their off-line supermarket. It’s a good option, however, because lots of stuff — especially vegetables — are way cheaper. Check out their vegetable boxes that combine a bunch of veggies at rock-bottom prices. Order from their Chinese-language only mini-program at: 百联到家. -
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Miss Fresh
Online Only
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Another local online groceries delivery service, this one is backed by Tencent. It’s usually a bit cheaper then Hema but reviews from our small SmartShanghai team were less positive about the freshness of the fruit. Might be an option to try if Hema is busy. Like Hema and Dinggong MaiCao, MissFresh offers a membership option that allows you to pick a weekday on which you can order with deep discounts. For ordering, download their app at 每日优鲜, or order from within WeChat at the same name. -
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Goma Greens
Online only
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An online store that sells fruits and vegetables sourced from farms within China. All packaging is made from sustainable and reusable material. Check their official WeChat account to view their products. -
Meituan Maicai
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Backed up by Meituan, one of the most popular food delivery apps, Meituan Maicai is an online supermarket with an emphasis on fresh meat, fruit, vegetables, etc. The market has warehouses dotted around town, with mostly domestic products at affordable prices. They offer same-day delivery in different time slots. In addition, they also have a pretty good selection of beers, local snacks, and kitchen necessities like condiments. To access the product list, check Meituan, and click / research 美团买菜. -
City Shop (Shanghai Centre)
B1/F, Shanghai Centre, 1376 Nanjing Xi Lu, near Xikang Lu
上海商城B1楼, 南京西路1376号, 近西康路
6279 8018
CityShop was a life saver for expats in China back in the day, and is still the neighbourhood import grocery store for many — often the only place to find western imported ingredients. They make you pay for it though. Nevetheless, it remains an excellent place for buying hard-to find items, even though their selection is localizing. Most of the stuff takes on huge markups but the vegetables (grown on the shop's own farm outside Shanghai) are surprisingly reasonable and they’ve got cheap made-to-order sandwiches and rotisserie chicken, too. They have a bilingual MiniProgram on WeChat for next-day delivery, and usually offer some coupons that knock the price down a bit. Check: CityShop+. -
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