Statista predicts massive growth in the online grocery delivery business by 2022.
The alone U.S. will double it from $14.2 billion (2017) to $29.7 billion (2022).
Just imagine how the ‘Grocery Delivery Business’ across the world will progress! The figures are definitely going to rise. Just look at the impressive evolution of retail giants – Walmart and Amazon (they are on the rise).
Although the pandemic has affected the shopping behavior – still not every customer prefers to shop from online sites and apps. However, experts predict the ‘online grocery delivery businesses’ to rise by 2022.
Also, look at the trends in 2020-21 – and imagine how it is going to accelerate in 2022.
Online Grocery Usage in The United States In 2020-22, By Level of Coronavirus Concern
Source: Statista
This is just one factor i.e. COVID-19. Just consider other points, including the demands of the grocery business, consumers shift from traditional shopping to online, and much more.
That’s definitely going to affect how the grocery delivery business really grows.
Now, see this:
Monthly retail sales of grocery stores in Canada from 2015 to 2020 (in billion Canadian dollars) *
Source: Statista
A visible shift in retail sales in just Canada is seen via this graph.
Today the grocery consumers enjoy incredible accessibility at their fingertips.
Extended waiting hours, wandering around in the store for groceries, and then finding relevant products were some major issues.
Now, everything is accessible in the comfort of home via a site or an app.
Digital order requests have ascended – after all, it is just a few clicks that’s going to get consumer’s their chosen products. Why would they indulge in facing the grocery delivery concerns, anyway?
Customers are busy and they are really appreciating such ‘online delivery businesses.’
Online grocery delivery business offers convenience and comfort (which is highly appreciated by the consumers).
But, at the same time, they have a choice. With so many online grocery delivery businesses active online today, it has become easier for the customer to choose their favorite grocery store. However, it has become difficult for grocery businesses to sustain in the current market.
Online Grocery Delivery Business – How’s It Growing? Where’s the Growth Coming From?
There are a few reasons behind the constant growth of the grocery delivery business. Here are a few:
- Impact of the Pandemic
There are some obvious reasons why the ‘online grocery delivery business’ is growing at such a pace. The most popular one, nowadays, is the impact of COVID-19.
Yes, the coronavirus pandemic was so sudden that it didn’t allow us to prepare. The same goes for the grocery business. The impact was so sudden that grocers had no time to understand what happened, and how they are going to adjust to the altered needs of the customers.
Grocery shoppers had no time to address this issue, however, there was a quick rise in demand of groceries (the basics).
There were times when customers even faced the inadequacy of the groceries.
That’s what accelerated the demand for groceries. And, that’s when the grocers were more alert and understood how big their market is.
Just after a few weeks (with enough grocers delivering the groceries), the impact of pandemic was resolved.
So, the first reason behind the constant growth of groceries recently is the ‘impact of COVID-19.’
Whilst the pandemic has been so harsh on the world, it seems that this crisis has been positively impacting the online grocery delivery business.
- The ‘Pre-Pandemic’ Regulars Helped
For instance, a grocer has been supplying groceries to some specific customers for a few months or years. Now, when the world has faced such crisis, why would the customers find a new grocery delivery business, if the existing one is delivering the groceries on time?
The main factor that is leading to grocer’s growth is the trust that has been built between them and the customers.
That’s for the grocery delivery stores, who have been in the market for a while now. Or, those who were already in grocery businesses.
The existing grocers already had a good connection with the patrons, created their own market, and now all they need to do was deliver groceries on time to sustain.
Besides, customers are also less likely to trust someone else, when they have been receiving timely services from one store.
So, the ‘trust’ could be another factor behind the current growth of the online grocery delivery business.
Now, coming to those who recently stepped into the online grocery delivery businesses.
Considering the pandemic effect, it was not too challenging for them to enter the grocery market. However, a scalable and engaging online presence is a must.
Newbies had to face a few challenges too, including spreading the word about their brand, getting attention from the customers, maintaining quality, building trust amongst the patrons, and much more.
But, customer’s demand for groceries was so high that it somehow blurred a few challenges, which could have been much more adverse for the newbie online grocery delivery businesses.
Hence, pre-pandemic trust and connection with customers have certainly helped the existing online grocery delivery businesses. For newbies, it is the accelerated grocery demand that has helped them in building and sustaining a grocery business online.
- The ‘Comfort’ has Changed the Game
Today’s customers are all about comfort, irrespective of the business you are running.
The growth of the online grocery delivery business relies majorly on this factor. Customers adore comfy shopping. And, the pandemic has given them a good reason to shop online, precisely.
‘Amazon’ is a giant in this market, and perhaps, the biggest dominator as well.
The reason?
The price, the comfortable shopping experience, the rapid delivery, the product quality, or be it anything else that a customer demands, everything is aptly delivered by Amazon.
Ultimately, it is the ‘comfort’ that people are looking for.
So, if the online grocery delivery business does provide a ‘comfortable shopping experience’ to the customers; sustaining would be pretty easy.
Also, the impact of the coronavirus pandemic swipes away all the credit for the online grocery delivery business’s success. That’s undeniable.
Mostly, it is the younger generation that is somewhat transformed the grocery sale trends.
Youth is highly reliable on such ‘home delivery’ apps, including the grocery.
Customers are busy, they can’t afford the time to go to the store, wait in the lines for buying stuff, and then drive back home. For them, the services have to be quick – be it groceries or cosmetics or anything else.
Younger generations of consumers are driving maximum digital grocery sales.
Digital grocery sales offer loyalty rewards besides a humongous delivery range (allowing customers to choose from the bulk).
- ‘Safety’ is the New Concern
The new mantra of grocery shoppers across the globe; grocery delivery has to be safe.
The groceries have to be delivered safely.
‘Safety’ is the prime concern for any customer these days, including those shopping for groceries as well.
For upkeeping this demand of grocery shoppers, the online grocery delivery business needs to ensure that all safety measures are followed while delivering groceries.
‘Contactless Delivery’ is the new thing that is followed by almost every online grocery delivery business now. And, customers have a positive opinion about the same too. They can see the grocer’s concern for themselves. Hence, customers tend to stick to the online grocery delivery business.
Grocers are showing trust, and perhaps, that’s what is helping the grocery business grow.
For grocers, it is important to build trust, show concern, and offer a helping hand rather than just selling groceries. That’s the need of the hour.
People are more concerned about their safety than ever before. They wish for an online grocery delivery business that is ready to understand their ‘safety needs.’
Perhaps, those getting sufficient success in the grocery business are following the same.
So, for the grocery delivery business, growth is coming from upkeeping the grocery delivery safety measures.
If they feel, they are safe when using your services and products, they will completely rely on you, without hesitation.
- Bulk Shopping Option
The online grocery delivery business has simplified the whole concept of grocery shopping.
Bulk shopping is not so comforting when done from the physical stores.
On the other hand, it is pretty easy to order groceries in bulk when shopping from the comfort of the home.
All they need to do is click on the products to add them to the cart and order it.
However, physical stores don’t allow for such a comforting grocery shopping experience.
Just imagine how much time it would consume to find, pick, and collect groceries in bulk from the physical store. Now that’s pretty time consuming and demands efforts to do so.
Besides, standing in queues for long hours can leave them restless and tired.
During this pandemic phase, who would adore standing in the queues with such bulk groceries, and wait for their turn to drive back home. That’s exhausting.
The grocery shoppers, thus, don’t hesitate to shift to online grocery delivery business.
Reasons are obvious for this shift from physical stores to the online grocery delivery business – it’s the ease of shopping, comfort, and speedy services that they love about online grocery delivery business.
The online grocery delivery business is certainly on the rise, as it has the power to save shopping time. It even saves the efforts of the customers, which otherwise would have been wasted to wait in the queues at the physical stores.
The online grocery delivery business allows bulk grocery shopping – without wasting time and effort. And, that’s the reason why customers are appreciating this shift.
That’s another how the grocery business is growing.
Online Grocery Delivery Business –What does it Take to Sustain a Growing Grocery Delivery Business?
There are certain things that grocers need to understand when positive business growth is felt. Even then, constant efforts are to be made to sustain such growing online grocery delivery business.
Here’s how:
- Keep sufficient stock of groceries so that their customers don’t have to suffer the shortage. In case, they are facing a continuous deficiency of certain products, chances of them shifting to your competitors are high. Hence, to keep your customers, and keep them happy, it is needed to keep a constant supply of the groceries’.
- Delivering groceries on time can be a great factor in deciding how happy your customers are going to be. Strategize your business to invest the minimum time to deliver the groceries to the customers. If any online grocery delivery business is positively doing that, there are zilch chances of losing a customer.
- Customers demand quality products, and the grocers have to deliver the same. They might be your trusted customers, but if the quality of grocery diminishes, chances of losing even the long-term customers rises. Hence, constant check in the quality along with sufficient quantity is to be maintained. Customers will stick to your grocery business, only and if the quality is maintained – be it in the services or your supplied products.
- Don’t be careless about the safety of your customers. There are dozens of grocers online, and it would take a minute for your customers to shift to your competitor. Besides, the current trend in the online grocery delivery business is to maintain apt safety, so that patrons don’t hesitate to shop groceries from you. You can opt for ‘contactless deliveries,’ provide sufficient masks, gloves, and sanitizers to the delivery agents. The need is to care for your customers, and they will take care of your business.
- Keep a check on the prices! Customers have a choice, but you need to build your own, long-term, loyal network, who can rely on your online grocery delivery, without any hesitation. The grocery business, as per the current trends, is already on the rise. There would be no harm in providing groceries to your customers at a little lower price than your competitors to be in the race. For this, you can offer exclusive deals and discounts to your patrons to keep them hooked while allowing them to get groceries at a reasonable price.
Related Post: Why Invest in Readymade Online Grocery Delivery App System?
Pro Tip: Current trend says, grocery shoppers are not just looking for groceries; they are looking for care, concern, and a helping hand. If your grocery business is delivering all of this, it is easy for you to attain success in the online grocery delivery business.
The Takeaway Message
The online grocery delivery business is accelerating, and positive growth of grocery delivery business is also predicted by 2021-22. Understand what the customers need, and your online grocery delivery business will grow. Besides, focus on points that tend to sustain and grow your online grocery business. Also, if you are thinking about stepping into the grocery market, it is perhaps, the best time to do so. Hence, we can conclude that online grocery delivery business is certainly on the rise, and will continue to, even in 2021-22.