Grocery eCommerce convenience – from Click & Collect to Delivery

Blogged by Newsroom
April 28, 2015

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Grocery eCommerce is still one of the last bastions to be exploited by the potential of online shopping. Both large and small companies are vying for market share before this new industry fully takes off. A lot of grocers have tried to capitalize on the popular trends of integrated commerce, but have yet to find their stride. It’s an experience of trial and error and for many, the possible rewards outweigh the risks.

Even regional grocery stores have the same opportunities as their larger rivals when it comes to the digital landscape of shopping. With so many emerging services and features to offer consumers, regional grocers have the chance to make a lasting impression on their communities that could carry over to enduring brand loyalty – if they adapt to the newest technological progressions.

Expected growth and Click & Collect

If a grocery store updates to their shopping technology, they could provide their neighborhoods with the same services that large grocers are struggling to spread nationwide. Unlike the big corporations, many regional stores have goals contained to their location and the proper infrastructure already in place to meet these new consumer expectations.

But big competitors like Walmart expect to persevere with online grocery shopping as it sees the sector to be vital to the organization’s future, reported Forbes. While online sales only make up less than 3% of total sales for Walmart, the revenue from the market is predicted to grow 30% this year alone thanks to the new strategies the company has put in place. By shifting gears to multi channel marketing, Walmart can serve more shoppers’ needs whether online or in-store. Connecting online presence to physical stores, means grocers can gain the sales made online without the logistical trouble of setting up deliveries because consumers can come to the store to pick up their goods whenever it is convenient for them.

Walmart is shifting toward an omnichannel style store that services the wide array of customers it sees. Local stores can perform the same functions within their community and benefit from their already​-established networks of supply and location.

Delivery made easier

Increasingly, shoppers don’t have the spare time available to search through market aisles or pick up an order, and online delivery services are popping up to fill the need. Where many have failed, companies such as Instacart have so far succeeded in delivering groceries right to the homes of online shoppers the very same day, according to Business Insider.

The company completed a second wave of fundraising to expand delivery operations, raising $44 million, stated Fox Business. Just when it seemed same-day grocery delivery was out of reach for stores, Instacart created a method using independent contractors around popular metropolitan areas to do all the shopping.

After receiving an order, these professional shoppers stop at local stores to pick out the products consumers requested, sometimes from a specific location, stated Business Insider. What makes Instacart even more different from large grocers is the fact that it has no logistics network to accomplish this, making it very easy to expand. The company simply uses area resources such as local stores.

This gives small grocery stores the possibility to offer delivery by partnering up with services like Instacart. By improving retail technology, local stores can use everything they already have in place to grow even larger while reaching an audience never before tapped.