I think either delivery and picking up a pre-packed order are both ways of saving time for the aforementioned bulky things - you aren't doing as much handling, obviously.Time IS of the essence for many people Barbara - I have better things to do with mine than going around supermarkets which I hate OR hanging around at home waiting for a delivery (which I can't do anyway because I'm out at work most of the time).
Also supermarket trolleys are a bit small if you are really stocking up - I go & stock up when the offers are on about, every six months or so, but apart from me I don't know many people who store a dozen 5 litre bottles of washing gloop, 500 loo-rolls & 120 sopalin, loo cleaner etc & I do that only because it means I have to do that sort of shop twice a year, & I go in person. I wouldn't mind having it delivered but again it would be a twice a year job for whoever sold them to me so not really worth it.
I get dog & cat biscuits in 10/15 kilo sacks but one at a time so they don't go stale(r) - there IS a delivery service available for those but I don't use it. Yet.
Water doesn't ever figure on my list as I drink what comes out of the tap.
I think paradoxically enough that the ones who are most likely to offer delivery are small commerces de proximité but as they are more expensive, or perceived as being more expensive, people might not go for it. My baker-cum general shop has to do it because the commune is very spread out and they aren't in the village, they are a more than 5 minute drive away, certainly to far to walk esp with shopping.
My village bakery-cum-general shop has a van that goes round with a selection of things including - if you ring ahead, gas bottles, and obviouly a fair bit of heavy/bulky stuff. They do the rounds 5 or 6 days a week.
There was an online supermarket (Houra) which used to deliver here but no longer (they stopped 12 years ago) as it isn't commercially viable in Dordogne, we are too sparsely populated. Another problem (and why I don't use the drive service) is I like to see & feel what I'm buying even if it is only loo-cleaner or sponges or the like. I'd certainly never buy fresh things like that and I think I'm probably not at all unusual.
Just seen your minimum 200 euro drop - well that rather rules out most of the agricultural OAPs I'm afraid.
Yes, but they only delivery in cases of classifiable poverty, 'en situation de pauvreté ou d'extrême pauvreté' as their mandate shows. That is for families, children particularly and the elderly who are classified impoverished. If, for example the elderly, the people have a decent pension but are immobile then they are not eligible. However, again it is something in a better world could be built on.
All true, but great oaks from little acorns. Some stores have delivery services but they are tied to online ordering, that needs a couple of generations to be universal. I hope they get there.
It depends on where you are, for instance we only have a door to door baker delivery twice a week. Two villages on they have a fruit and vegetable delivery plus a mobile butcher in the village who will make drop-offs. It is not cooked food in general but then even the most ancient and 'wobbly' people here still make their own food normally. Add a few basic groceries and delivery would cover all needs, people could prepare their meals and family and health visitors stop the gaps as it is, very acceptable. Not perfect, but what is.
All such things are becoming history in the UK, so whilst it isn't perfect it is probably by and large better than it is there. That, for me, is another reason not to want to go back there.
In principle it is a good idea. It is like the old meals-on-wheels idea in the UK I suppose. It was always meant to deliver meals to individuals at home who are unable to buy or prepare their own meals. The big problem is that the stores do not as such have the facilities the good old WRVS had. Food produced for a staff canteen does not tend to suit the large range of specialised diets required and preparing them. In the UK several local authorities have stopped providing hot meals and are now delivering frozen pre-cooked meals for the elderly without special needs. The idea is great in a perfect world but as I understand it, simply trying to cater for the two types of diabetics alone killed off any specialised service. Here is France most elderly people with or without special needs are looked after by family and/or friends. If you mean to cater for non-French people then economically it would not be viable given the distances that would need to be driven in total with recipients dispersed and relatively small numbers of customers.
The French did have a meals-on-wheels service in a few places in the 1950s but it was never viable and did not last long. Looking at the UK and USA as examples. They relied on volunteers, mostly their vehicles for delivery, donated food, used the cooking facilities of volunteers and concerns willing to help and then after all that were basically an urban service that never really extended to cover rural areas very well. I suspect it would be costed and then rejected as a bad business proposition if it ever got that far.