Day by day, our lives are becoming busier than ever. To reduce their daily workload, people are now more dependent on technology and are meeting their basic needs. In recent years, a grocery delivery service has been in trend. People use this facility to avoid long queues of grocery stores. This saves their time and can be helpful for those who are unable to travel to the supermarket as well.
Technology changed the way people shop. Technology has increased the software trend in grocery stores to sell household items. The popularity and usability graph of online grocery sales shows that it is trending and popular among customers.
Article Content-
- Facts Based on Online Grocery System
- Effect of COVID-19 on Online Grocery System
- 7 Important Pointers to Know Before Starting Online Grocery Store
- Final Words
Facts Based on Online Grocery System
A report published by The Food Marketing Institute and Nielsen expects American consumers to spend up to 100 billion dollars by 2025 on online grocery items. That way, you can guess how big the online grocery market is going to be.
According to the survey in the Indian market, the grocery retail market is growing exponentially. The entire value of this online industry will cross USD 650 billion by 2020. This survey suggests that this is the best time to start a new online grocery store.
But no matter how reliable the statistics are, this online data makes you think of starting a grocery business. In actuality, you need to have a proper strategy to sell products because the grocery products are perishable. Furthermore, you need to prepare your system in such a way that you can face any challenge to run the store. If you are sure about setting up a grocery store, there are some signs that you should keep in mind.
But before discussing the key points, here we discuss the effect of COVID-19 in the grocery business.
Effect of COVID-19 on Online Grocery System
According to the survey conducted in the US, about 52% purchased groceries from online stores in the last year. The e-commerce revenue from food and beverage retail sales in 2020 is estimated to reach 3.5% as compared to 2.6% in 2019.
As per another research by Coresight Research U.S on online grocery, sales increased by 22% in 2019. Due to the COVID-19 lockdown and high demand, it is estimating to increase by 40% by 2020.
During the lockdown, Big Basket experienced a 20% growth in its business. They are receiving big orders, which have an estimated delivery time of 2-3 hours from the earlier 2-3 hours.
7 Important Pointers to Know Before Starting Online Grocery Store
COVID-19 is an opportunity for those who are in the grocery business or want to start their carrier in the online grocery business. Let’s discuss some pointers that need to know before starting an online grocery store.
1. Choose the Right Platform
Choosing a suitable platform is the key to a successful business. In the grocery business, you need to pick a user-friendly and flexible platform that handles the current and future needs of your store. The grocery store contains many items, so it should be necessary that the platform has robust operations for inventory tracking, billing, and delivery. The system should have easy navigation, responsive design, and trendy features. Also, you need to ensure that your platform is mobile friendly.
2. Select The Target Audience And Location
For any grocery business, it is necessary to plan your business according to the target audience and area of operation. For this, you need to identify factors, such as demographics, consumer preferences in the region, and an idea of the competition you face. So, to transform your grocery store into successful trading, you must have an e-commerce solution that can analyze the clues for you from various fields, marketing, and sales. Also, the system should have the ability to search for a potential customer base and track their purchasing habits.
3. Decide the Right Delivery Module
If your grocery store is offering a home delivery option, then you should cleverly decide your online system. For this, you have to consider options like same-day delivery, next day delivery, and arrange delivery on time. Thus, a robust distribution module is necessary to track your entire distribution expenses.
4. Define Your USPs
There are millions of grocery store platforms available in the market that give the business a successful run. You also need to create a unique selling point for your store, which will attract people and pay attention to your store. Unique selling points include a user-friendly interface, offers, discounts, gift coupons, and more. This will help your grocery store grow.
5. Marketing and Advertising
In the present business competition, marketing and advertising is the key to a successful business. The correct methods of marketing and advertising highlight your business strong points and give your business the right market reach. The various media platforms, like email or social media, are available that used for business promotion as per your budget.
6. Multiple payment options
Now the market is focusing more on cashless payments. Thus, any retail shop or business must include several payment options like credit/debit cards, cash on delivery, etc. in their business. This will increase customer satisfaction or relieve you from cash calculation.
7. Know your competitors
Business requires knowing your competitors. You need to research the products they are selling. Also, you should gather information about their marketing strategy, technical solutions, and how their business works. It will help you to plan a competitive approach for your business that is related to price, stock, brand, etc.
Final Words
Setting up an online grocery store can be easy, but only when you know what exactly you are expecting from it. The above-mentioned pointer will help you to know your business needs. Hence, research is the key to start your online grocery business.
Still, you have any confusion or want some personal help, kindly contact SWIL team or visit our website. We are always available to assist you.
