5 Ways Local Grocers Thrive during a Recession
Among all e commerce sectors, grocery ecommerce is getting more attention in recent days and will increase its business 202% in 2022. By seeing the figures many budding entrepreneurs get to an idea of building a grocery ecommerce platform that can get them multiple returns.
One cannot deny the fact that grocery ecommerce can get you better returns but at the same time one needs to be prepared to face various challenges and should know how to overcome them and survive the ecommerce market.
Let us figure out the challenges and what can be remedies to confront them.
Change in market trends
The market demands and customers’ expectations keep changing often. We cannot stick on to a particular aspect and build our grocery ecommerce platform. If we do so we may find it difficult to face the competition.
Initially grocery ecommerce platforms were just delivering grocery products at customers’ doorstep but today many additional features like BOPIS, curb-side delivery have come. Your platform needs to adapt to market changes.
Remedy – you need to keep analyzing the market often and should be aware of what is more trending in recent days. Also keep an eye on your competitors and know what strategy they follow. Introduce all emerging technologies in your online grocery platform and make it approachable to your audience.
Fluctuation in delivery and storage cost
This is one of the major problems that any online grocery store will face. When you find difficulty in estimating the delivery and storage cost, you cannot determine your profit margin. Many factors exclusively impact the cost like taxes, rent of warehouse, transportation maintenance cost, electricity and many more.
Even in certain cases, customers may ask for same day delivery. In this case without charging them additionally you need to arrange a vehicle and that will cost extra. Fuel charges keep changing and this affects the transportation cost. Likewise there are many factors that have a huge impact in running a grocery ecommerce platform.
Remedy – be planned with your location you are going to deliver. Do not try to cover a vast area initially. You need to understand the delivery process and should have a proper delivery schedule. Make use of supply chain apps and have a perfect supply chain management that can save you from any uncertainty.
Improper deliveries
Delivery is the key aspect that is highly considered in any grocery ecommerce platform. You can retain your customers only if you provide prompt delivery. But many hindrances are there like you may not find proper delivery boys to pick-up the products from grocery stores and deliver to customers. The weather may not be good to drive a vehicle or in some cases there may be high traffic in peak hours that will delay the delivery time.
Remedy – always have a clear delivery chart and route plan in advance. Check with peak hours and make sure to take the shortest route to reach the customer place. You can set a minimum delivery value to customers that will help you to use delivery persons to optimum level. In unavoidable cases, better inform customers regarding the delay so that they may not panic about the delay.
Non-tech customers
Today all grocery ecommerce platforms are available in apps. Mobile apps are better to use and give a seamless shopping experience. But all grocery items will be purchased mostly by elder people in the house who may not be aware of technologies and mobile apps. We cannot educate them unless they get exposed to it. In this case you may lose the major user group.
Remedy – you can include a voice ordering feature in your app that will make senior people utilize them for ordering products. By recognizing their voice they will be taken directly to the product page and from there they can easily order their requirements.
Difficult to manage stock
Wide range of products is involved when you run a grocery ecommerce platform. You need to keep track of all products. There are many issues that will rise when you deal with inventory. Some products would have expired; some may go out of stock that we may not notice. At the time of delivery we will come to know about the shortage and we may lose orders. There can also be price variation and you would have not updated. All these will affect your reputation and revenue.
Remedy – all you need is to have an automated inventory management system that will keep complete control of the inventory. You may not worry about when there is going to be a shortage as the system will intimate you through alert notifications and you can fill-in the stock. Also products with immediate expiry dates will be delivered and proper packing will be followed.
Difficult to penetrate into small towns
Getting adapted to technology happens only with top cities where people are well-educated and aware of the internet and other online stuff. This is not so in small towns and villages. The exposure to the internet is considerably low. Some may be new to smartphones and there are fewer possibilities for them to be aware of grocery ecommerce platforms. People prefer to visit nearby grocery stores in person and wish to bargain and buy products.
Remedy – increase their awareness about your online grocery store software and make them understand the benefits they gain through the platform. Give more offers and discounts initially to make them visit your platform. People prefer cheaper products to buy and this will be an attractive tool to get them into your platform. Also use traditional marketing to promote your brand.
Cyber threats that affects the reputation
When you go online then you are prone to virus attacks. People will hesitate to use your platform if they find it insecure. Usually people will use payment gateways that are integrated with the grocery ecommerce platform to pay and buy products. In this process they may enter their data and if the platform is insecure then their data may be stolen. There is always an aversion to using online marketplace platforms mainly because of the security threat.
Remedy – you need to integrate SSL certification with your grocery ecommerce platform as it will protect you from malware and DdoS attacks. Also integrate familiar and reputed payment gateways with your platform. Payment gateways like Paypal, Stripe have a secured payment process that will protect customers from all security threats. If they find it comfortable then without hesitation, they will buy in your online grocery store software.
Conclusion
Every business has faced a lot of digital transformation in recent days. Moving online has become a necessity for every entrepreneur. So this is the right time to pitch you grocery ecommerce platform in the ecommerce market. Make sure you have implemented all the remedies that are listed above as it will help you to grow your grocery ecommerce business in a healthy and better way.
