Why Setting Up An Online Grocery Business In 2021 Is A Good Idea Amidst Coronavirus?

Last Updated: 8th June, 2023

COVID-19 (Coronavirus) has raised a global public health emergency. The pandemic has led to a rapid transformation in the way we all function in our day-to-day lives. It has dynamically changed the grocery delivery services and various other sectors unfolding new opportunities.

Recent research by Digital Commerce suggests that amid coronavirus, the online grocery business sales grew by 31% in March 2020. This figure was projected to be a mere 13% in August 2019.  Another study by Neilsen reflects that around 70% consumers will prefer purchasing groceries through online grocery marketplaces by the year 2024.

In this volatile economy, consumer buying habits have projected a noticeable shift. Let’s take a look at the effect of coronavirus on the grocery buying habits of the consumers and what benefits can it unfold for online grocery businesses in 2020.

Key Takeaways

• COVID-19 precautions have projected a decrease in the in-store visits for grocery essentials.
• People are making proactive online purchases for health-related items in bulk.
• Shopping habits that consumers develop amidst self-isolation might become a norm projecting new future possibilities.

The widespread outbreak of coronavirus has triggered panic buying among grocery shoppers. Additionally,  with shoppers hesitating to make purchases using traditional methods, demand for consumer essentials via eCommerce grocery marketplaces and grocery delivery apps has shot up considerably.

A Bullish Surge In The Sales Of Groceries Via Grocery Delivery Apps Amidst Coronavirus Scare

According to Apptopia, grocery giants such as Instacart and Walmart have seen respectively 218% and 160% increases in average daily downloads of their app compared to the previous month. Target also saw a 98% jump in average daily downloads on Sunday over the average daily download in February.

With the government’s regulation to follow intense “social-distancing”, people are now avoiding using traditional grocery shopping methods and opting for the doorstep delivery of groceries through grocery delivery apps.

As a part of the contact-less delivery services, orders can be placed anywhere a customer wants for safer pickup, or drivers are being instructed to ring the customers’ doorbell and leave the order at the door. A photo alert will be sent to the consumers informing them about the grocery delivery. Companies are inventing and adopting various such techniques to continue delivering groceries to the public.

Watch the video to know more about online grocery industry.

Online Grocery Shopping To Fuel Even After The Pandemic Ends?

COVID-19 (Coronavirus) has enveloped the whole world in just a few months altering the consumer’s shopping patterns. More and more people are now ordering groceries online, navigating the changing consumption patterns.

Once the consumers become familiar with using grocery apps and eCommerce services to order staples, they might not switch back to running down the grocery stores and making purchases. This makes sense because of the added convenience and ease of doorstep deliveries along with increased awareness about hygiene.

Online shopping for groceries to continue even after the pandemic ends because:

• People will avoid visiting any overly crowded areas as a precautionary measure against COVID-19. They will prefer buying groceries online.
• A shift in consumers’ grocery purchasing habits can be witnessed as people might become accustomed to purchasing groceries online in the long run.

The grocery industry will witness a complete makeover post coronavirus considering the consumer’s behavior and changes in buying habits. Since people are relying heavily on online grocery marketplaces, it is indeed ideal to launch an online grocery business and offer grocery delivery services.

How to Set up an Online Grocery Business?

There are various on-demand grocery business models and out of them, Aggregators and Standalone Stores are the most popular ones. Now, the question arises which one suits you?

Let us consider two scenarios:

Scenario 1

You have an existing offline grocery store.  Since the grocery industry is booming amidst the pandemic, you start looking for options to take your offline business online (standalone store business model). How will you do that?

Solution

Establishing an online presence involves developing and starting a website that needs to have every possible feature that an online grocery delivery store could have.

And, if you want a quicker and more cost-effective solution, a readymade approach will better suit you.

Growcer Lite, a single vendor grocery ecommerce software along with a dedicated mobile buyer app can be your perfect software to build a standalone store and leverage your grocery business online. With its engaging features, you can reach out to a wider audience and build a customer base in new markets.

Scenario 2

You want to enlist various offline grocery vendors on the same platform (marketplace business model) and let customers shop from wherever they want. You ponder on what approach should you follow and what your next step should be?

Solution

With our turnkey eCommerce grocery solution Growcer, you can start a multi-vendor grocery marketplace easily.  Along with it, we offer a ready-made delivery boy app to streamline the end tail of the supply chain.