The food delivery industry in Austria has been booming and with it, the many companies that provide this service are growing and expanding. However, there is no contest when it comes to the three companies below as they all have a stable presence in the industry and provide safe and quality services and enhance your accommodation in Austria. Each is good for different things, so we tried to write up a short comparison of them.
Merkur Direkt grocery delivery
Merkur is one of the largest hypermarket chains in Austria so it makes sense that they provide a high-quality delivery service. With over 20 000 products available, there is scarcely anything that you won’tt find. And with the Friends of Merkur loyalty programme, you might get special prices, better offers and much more.
Its delivery service, Merkur Direkt, may not be delivered to every single region of Austria, but it does the job. It boasts a few guarantees on its site, including free delivery if your shopping does not arrive on time, possibility of returning goods that you don’t like back to the driver at no cost, always refrigerated goods (if you get food that’s not adequately refrigerated it can also be returned), and no charge for fruits and vegetables which get damaged during delivery. Overall, the services are good, though there is no English option on their somewhat aged website.
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Hausfreund grocery delivery
Hausfreund is the smallest of the three stores and probably the youngest (has been around for about 15 years). It’s fully committed to online food delivery and has no physical storefronts. It has over 15 000 products available on its website which get delivered to both households and companies.
It provides many convenient services such as no delivery fee for orders above 299 €, payment by card directly to the driver (who all have card readers), and the first 3 deliveries without a fee for new members (so it’s good to try it out, even if only a few times). In addition to that, they have a so-called Happy Hour (Mon to Fri between 17:00 – 22:00) when there’s no delivery fee. One exception to that is when the shopping costs less than 49 €. At that point, there are some surcharges added to the final bill.
Billa grocery delivery
Billa has been the local grocery store of Austria for over 60 years so there is no competition when it comes to experience. Not only does it have over 1000 branches but it’s the only delivery service in Austria which is able to get groceries to every post-code in the country. Both Billa and Merkur are owned by the same company (REWE) but that does not mean there are no differences.
They have several options when it comes to online shopping. Click & Collect lets you buy and pay for groceries online, but you have to pick them up from a nearby store yourself. The DriveIn is similar, but your shopping is put into your car by Billa employees for you. Lastly is the normal delivery type which goes both to households and to offices. Their minimum order is 40 €, making it somewhat better than Housefreund, and the delivery fee is somewhere between 2 € and 5 €, depending on where you are and what time slot you choose. If any goods are delivered damaged or you find them inadequate, you can return them back to the driver and their cost will be deducted from your bill.
