My family was sick & we were running out of essentials. Could free same day delivery save the day?

Some errands can wait until the weekend, but what happens when you need something today?

My family had been recovering from the flu for the past few days, so we were going through tissues much faster than usual, and the laundry was quickly piling up.

That morning, I realised we had blown through most of our tissues and were down to our last few laundry pods. At that rate, we'd run out of both before the next day.

Normally, that would mean taking the train to Bishan, picking up what we needed and hauling everything home.

Not exactly how I wanted to spend my morning, especially when I had other things to get done.

As a frequent user of Shopee, ordering the essentials online was an obvious alternative. The difference this time was that I needed them that day.

It was around 9am, three hours before the 12pm cutoff for Shopee's Buy Today, Get Today, where eligible Fulfilled by Shopee (FBS) items ordered before noon can arrive later the same day with free shipping and S$0 minimum spend.

That left one question: could I get what we needed by the end of the day and skip the Bishan run altogether?

What else could I get delivered that day?

As I added the items on my shopping list to cart, I started looking around the dedicated FBS page to see what else was available for same day delivery.

We were also running low on a few household staples, including paper towels and other cleaning products.

Given that these were some of the heavier and bulkier things I'd normally have to carry home, getting them delivered that very same day with no minimum spend free shipping felt like a no-brainer.

What surprised me, though, was how much further the selection went.

I had assumed Buy Today, Get Today would mainly come in handy for household essentials.

Instead, I also found eligible FBS products across beauty, electronics, home and living, gifts, baby products and pet supplies, including laptops, air fryers, diapers and pet treats.

As someone with sensitive skin, I even found myself browsing skincare.

When a Torriden sheet mask caught my eye, I used seller chat to check whether it was suitable for sensitive skin.

The response was a reassuring "yes dear". The only other person who regularly calls me "dear" is probably my mum, so that’s a win.

And there were savings too

As I browsed, I noticed some products came with bundle deals, and eligible FBS products also had an exclusive 25 per cent off product voucher.

This could be stacked with the FBS no minimum spend Free Shipping voucher, which meant I could get eligible items delivered that same day without having to hit a minimum basket size for free shipping.

With everything sorted before the 12pm cutoff, there was only one part of the experiment left. Would it actually arrive that day?

From screen to doorstep in the same day

After placing my order, I received regular delivery updates, so I could keep track of its progress while getting on with the rest of my day.

At about 9:46pm, the delivery arrived. Everything was neatly packed, with items that needed additional protection carefully wrapped.

And there it was: the household haul I'd ordered that morning, sitting at my doorstep before the day was over.

For me, that was the part that landed. I'd started the morning realising we were about to run out of everyday essentials.

By that night, I'd restocked what we needed and discovered that the same day selection extended well beyond a typical grocery run.

No waiting until tomorrow. No hauling bulky household supplies home from Bishan.

And, perhaps most importantly, the same day part really did mean the same day, without having to hit a minimum spend.

If you're keen to try Buy Today, Get Today for yourself, orders must be placed before 12pm, Monday to Sunday (excluding public holidays), to qualify for free islandwide same day delivery.

This sponsored article by Shopee made sure this writer and her mum didn’t have to make their dwindling tissues last another day.