“As so much of our lives have shifted to online shopping (including grocery buying), it is apparent that businesses need to figure out some reliable ways to revive and re-strategize online as well as in-store experiences.”
One seamless way to do that is by investing in on-demand apps that are bound to change the future of grocery store businesses. We all have witnessed how the pandemic and shutdown have apparently transformed the way grocery businesses were operating. Pandemic just exploded the growth and sales last year. And, since then, the trend to shop via on-demand grocery apps is soaring.
Businesses rely on automated solutions to position themselves in a good place and survive aptly even after the pandemic. That’s an excellent way to capture the market, indeed.
So, how are grocery businesses going to survive post-pandemic? Why are apps becoming so crucial for this business? Is it going to dominate the grocery business in the future as well?
Let’s figure it out with this article, which includes:
✅ On-Demand Grocery Apps: The Current & The Future
✅ The Challenge: Keeping Customers
✅How Are On-demand Apps Changing the Future Of Grocery Store Businesses?
On-Demand Grocery Apps: The Current & The Future
Grocery businesses who are fulfilling the requirements of selling online will probably survive post-pandemic. That means grocers who know how to control business and revive it as per the conditions prevailing in the market are bound to rule. Others might take some time to pick up.
The Challenge: Keeping Customers
COVID-19 pandemic situation came out of the blue. Besides, grocers were literally panicked, knowing their stores would shut down entirely or partially for such a long time. The result? Customers were unhappy and shifted to other grocers.
Eventually, such grocery businesses who were just relying on the stores for their business were in trouble – their customers, sales, and profits went down drastically.
On the other hand, grocers who had on-demand apps ready were not so severely affected. All they had to do was shift complete focus on selling through apps. And, they survived, made huge profits, and even raised sales like never before.
Lesson Learnt: Customers will leave your business and shift to your competitors until you understand their requirements (keeping market change in mind) and deliver what’s needed.
However, using the on-demand grocery app doesn’t signify that in-store shopping will disappear completely. However, the focus will be more on online shopping.
We can see the boost in the grocery industry after the pandemic. However, there are still some logistical challenges that grocery stores need to understand. These could include:
Staffing – People are busy practicing social distancing, and they don’t want to ruin the comfort and convenience they have been getting for a while. Businesses cannot afford the staff to effectively handle online orders, from receiving, packing, shipping, and delivering. It has become a challenge for the industry to do so.
Inventory – Customers must receive what they need, and for that, businesses need to make it available at the store for them.
So, the only option left with grocers (to keep their customers) is to opt for an on-demand grocery delivery app with essential features and options for both the customers and sellers to play their roles comfortably.
⭕️ Walmart is the leader of over grocery, and it has invested hugely in grocery app. Just imagine how they acted based upon the predicted future and opted to use the app for selling to experience exponential growth and sales.
The scenario has started to change now – almost every grocer is investing in the on-demand grocery delivery app. They have seen the leaders growing tremendously after they incorporated apps in their business.
“Based on data from PriceWaterhouseCoopers, 37% of all grocery e-commerce sales in October came from purchases on a mobile device like tablet or phone.”
Let’s see how the on-demand grocery app can change the future of your grocery store business.
How Are On-demand Apps Changing the Future Of Grocery Store Businesses?
There are different ways on-demand apps change the future and shape it amazingly for grocery stores.
Optimum Order Management and Inventory
On-demand grocery delivery apps have inherent interactive features that make them an ideal solution for optimum order and inventory management. One such feature is the admin panel that lets administrators enter a space where every activity of the grocery business is managed seamlessly.
Admin panel is highly scalable and gives you complete control and access to manage the entire inventory needed in the grocery business. Besides, instant notifications keep you alert about the updates when anything takes place in the business.
For instance, when a customer pays for the groceries, you will get an instant notification.
What else? You can easily manage and keep track of all customers and grocers to work your business seamlessly. Hence, easily order management and inventory!
Improved Convenience
What will a customer expect from a grocery business during a pandemic like COVID-19? Well, nothing much, but timely delivery of groceries ordered and with utmost comfort and convenience.
An on-demand app assists you do that hassle-free. Almost all leading grocers nationwide are already leveraging the power of on-demand grocery delivery apps.
What can you expect from the grocery delivery app? Utmost comfort and convenience for your customers and highly effective delivery for your business. Customers used to select out the basket, find out the required grocery items, and then wait in queues for their turn for billing. However, most of them are now at home and expecting a convenient delivery from the grocers. A grocery app lets you do all of that (your business and customers demand) without any interruption.
Attracting Potential Customers
2021 is the year where the income in grocery is expected to attain 29.7 billion possibly. That doesn’t seem a big target for the grocery business, and the pandemic situation is somewhat responsible for that.
With an on-demand grocery delivery app, it is easier to predict what your customers want. And, when you anticipate what’s to be delivered, it is easier to satisfy your customer’s shopping needs.
Since customers get access to hundreds of grocery items, utmost comfort, convenience, and everything right at their doorsteps, they are likely to turn into your long-term customers. An app truly is a boon for a grocery business, and it will remain in the future as well.
Reserve Grocery Items in Advance
On-demand grocery apps give your customers the convenience to add ‘out of stock’ products in advance. And, when it becomes available, they get a notification to buy it. The grocers can order products based on demand and keep them ready for the customers the next time.
A customer could have become impatient with the non-availability of the products if they were shopping in the store. Since it would need time and effort to reach the store and then know about the unavailable products, it can irritate the customers. It is much easier to keep customers informed about the same in advance using an app.
Push notifications are a great feature of the on-demand grocery delivery app to keep customers informed about the products they want.
Loyalty Program Management
The on-demand grocery delivery app helps you build a loyal customer base. That’s another way how grocery apps make a secure future for businesses.
Use your app to build a loyalty program to get in more customers, who are the valuable assets of your business. Build a creative loyalty program that can hook the customers. You can even send notifications regarding the loyalty points to keep your customers updated. One effective way to build your loyalty base is to render a personalized and convenient user experience.
Brand Awareness Amongst Customers
Customers tend to connect with brands, which they know about the most. Being a business, you must focus on making customers connect with your brand somehow. Make them aware of your products or services before expecting them to be your loyal customers. Your on-demand grocery delivery app can eliminate the bottlenecks and expand your grocery business hassle-free.
Your on-demand app can create a deep-rooted feeling within your customer’s minds to build a good connection with them. And, once they start trusting you, it is easier to keep them for longer.
Invest adequate time and cost in building a reliable app that helps you stand out amongst the competitors. Also, allowing your customers to trust your business will never go out of fashion. So, it is recommended to build a highly scalable grocery delivery app to build a better customer experience.
Improved Marketing Opportunities
Apps are way more effective to create an optimized and customized experience while keeping the customers engaged. For instance, push notifications! It is one of the easiest ways to remind customers that you exist. Store owners can send personalized messages and services based on the preferences of each customer for a better business.
Your grocery app even gets you the user’s data. That means you can gather the data using the app and deploy a more likable and custom experience to the users. Isn’t that what your customers are expecting? Exactly, every customer wants businesses to deliver a relatable experience, which keeps them connected for longer.
A grocery delivery app is the future of the grocery business if you use it aptly. You can easily track users browsing patterns, wishlist, preferences, shopping patterns and use them to make them feel more connected with your brand.
Bottom Line
The grocery app is the future of shopping and the grocery business. People are crazily using their mobiles nationwide. Hence, it won’t be challenging to connect with them to expand your business. Grocery providers are already evolving to meet the rise in demand for online deliveries. And, these changes are expected to shape a reliable and trustworthy online shopping experience for customers.
It seems people have already shifted to online shopping due to the pandemic. We expect this trend to stay here, as customers enjoy the comfort and convenience of shopping through an app. Even a few percentages of people who prefer in-store shopping are also turning online.
Building a reliable grocery delivery app for your business is undoubtedly ideal for delivering a satisfactory customer experience. Again, an on-demand grocery app truly creates a reliable future for grocery businesses.
