Being a bit of a luddite at heart, I had avoided doing my supermarket shopping online until relatively recently. Despite being a big fan of buying books, films, CDs, even clothes over the internet, the idea of getting groceries just seemed a step too far. I like to be able to see exactly what I'm getting, particularly when it comes to fruit and veg and I wasn't sure I would entirely trust someone else to do the legwork for me.

What spurred me on to try out shopping from sainsburys.co.uk was their Christmas sale. My local Sainsburys has a great range of gifts, and a particular favourite of mine is the Champneys range of bath products. But going round my local store in search of some New Year's bargains, I was greeted with an array of 'Sorry, this product is out of stock' stickers below the blank shelves on all my favourite things- they'd obviously been snapped up by savvy bargain hunters while I'd still be lounging at home stuffing my face with left over mince pies.

Back at home, I headed straight for the Sainsburys website. Along the top was an orange bar featuring different shopping categories- Food & Drink, Home & Garden, Appliances etc. I was puzzled at first- there was no section for gifts, and none for toiletries, which were the main things I was after in the sale. Disappointed, I went into Food & Drink, and clicked on 'Buy groceries', hoping to console myself with cut price alcohol and chocolates. Lo and behold, a whole new bar of categories opened up before my eyes, containing all the usual food and drink sections (fresh, frozen, bakery, off license etc), but also Health & Beauty, Newsagent, Pet and Household. This was obviously where the goods were!

Once I'd figured out how to get into the shopping part of the website, browsing the subcategories was easy and convenient. Within each broad category, you are given a list of more specific categories, and sometimes you can narrow it down even further. Clicking on Food Cupboard, for instance, you are presented with 15 subcategories- cereals, jams and spreads, tinned & canned foods etc. Clicking on these sections will present you with even narrower categories, with the option of viewing special offers in each category. Once you've picked the specific product you're after, you are presented with a list of all available versions of the product, each with a small picture so it's easy to find exactly what you're after. Alternatively, you can search for a specific product by name in the search box at the top.

Once you've found what you're after, you simply click 'add', and enter the quantity you want, and it will be added to your basket. I was very pleased with the range of products available- all the bargains that had sold out in store were still in stock on the website at their sale prices, and plenty more besides! I ended up with a much fuller basket than anticipated, as I kept spotting new bargains!

Checking out is quick and simple- you fill in your details, and choose a password which will save you from having to type it all out again the next time you shop online. One thing to bear in mind is that the 'total' totted up at the end of your list is often more than you will actually pay- that's because discounted items don't register until your payment is processed. So don't be dismayed by the fact it looks like you're paying full price- your discounts will be taken into account when you're charged. Having confirmed your order, you pick a delivery slot, by date and hour (any time from 9am to 11pm, so there's something for everyone). There are several different price brackets- £5.50 for delivery in the next three days, and £3.50/£4.50 for later dates. If you spend under £40, there's a flat rate of £6, but orders of over £100 can be delivered free on Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday (slightly random, I know!).

I was a little apprehensive before my order arrived- would all the items be there? I noted from the website that Sainsburys would offer substitutes for any items not in stock, which the delivery person would inform you of and you could choose to accept or decline (and send it back with the delivery person). You can choose not to be offered substitutes if you'd rather not, but I was curious to see how this would work, so I opted in. I'm glad to say I didn't have the chance to check it out though- all the items in my order were present and correct!

The friendly delivery guy actually arrived 15 minutes early- fortunately I was in, but if I hadn't been, this could have caused problems for me and him! My delivery arrived in crates, with a couple of plastic bags and a lot of loose items. It didn't take long to unpack the crates, and the delivery man was soon on his way again, leaving me to peruse my shopping. I was really pleased with everything I bought- it was all of a quality I would have chosen myself and no dud fruit or veggies had been palmed off on me, I'm glad to say!

I will definitely be using sainsburys.co.uk to shop again- the whole process was convenient and simple. The only negatives about the experience were the slightly early delivery, and the fact that electronic items had to be ordered separately, with their own delivery charge. But Sainsburys still scores a highly respectable 4 stars!