Online grocery shopping has changed retail forever. In response, e-commerce store development has been increasing to meet this demand. As a result, online grocery shopping has seen an uptick in every country around the globe. Product managers who want to stay ahead of the curve must develop innovative e-commerce stores through the top eCommerce Web Development Companies in the market and that can also keep up with customer needs.
According to AgFunder, the pandemic has greatly benefited e-commerce, and online grocery buying has increased significantly since 2020, after the first lockdown.
As every grocery store focuses on its website development, the mass market saw an increase in market share from 5.7% to 10% for a brief period in 2020. Investors are interested in this robust growth. $5.1 billion was raised by e-grocery businesses overall in 2020.
The question is how to cope with this growth in a sustainable way. Many retailers have switched to rapid growth by implementing a unified commerce approach. Still, the question is how to deliver excellent service and a profitable business model to serve that growth in the longer term.
Everyone might not adapt to online grocery shopping. People still go to the farmer’s market for fresh local produce. However, online groceries are more expensive. Also, you’ll miss the walk-in store experience.
Swift in E-commerce during COVID
For merchants grappling with the challenges and pitfalls associated with developing an efficient e-commerce operation, the pandemic has undoubtedly expedited all that and presented a unique opportunity to test novel ideas.
People have realized how convenient and, more recently, safe and hygienic to shop from your home.
People’s lives are made incredibly convenient by the time and contact savings of having a whole grocery store delivered to their home rather than having to go to the store with screaming kids in a trolley, spend an hour there, and then drive home for another half hour!
Change in Consumer Behaviour
It has been found that the more people take a chance to experience that, the more their behavior alters permanently, and that has been the case before and will likely continue in the future.
This year has seen a significant increase in consumers who previously may have been reluctant to buy groceries online. So it means that today the people purchasing groceries online are a more significant portion of the population, not just wealthier people or younger people; it’s everyone shopping online, a phenomenon that has continued to drive growth in the market.
Online Grocery after 2020
Common Direction in Online Grocery: A suitable model for long-term
Diana Medina, director of e-commerce solutions, said, “I think we’re going to see a lot of transformation in marketing tactics and the marketing investments that retailers are going to make to stay in front of their customers,”
The interesting fact is that just two years ago, the penetration rates in various areas were massively diverse.
Taking the US as an example, 2 years ago, the penetration rate of grocery online as a portion of total grocery was less than 2%. And millennials and more affluent folks were the ones doing their grocery shopping online.
It has suddenly become a universal market similar to in different countries. So, each country is at a distinct stage of evolution.
Therefore, it is getting more widespread on the market in that regard. But while consumer behavior varies from market to market, how people buy, how often they are willing to use their cars, and how much time they spend at home. But the fundamental expectation of standard product delivery of an average consumer around the globe is pretty much standard.
Online Shopping Trends
The truth with grocery shopping is it never changes as we anticipate it would. So, although the world is changing, good old facts are that people still want the same things: value, freshness, quality, range, and choice.
Value is significant; people also want quality and freshness, and range. And no matter how people shop for groceries, that will always be the case. Therefore, developing online business models that offer excellent value is crucial.
So, supply chains must be streamlined to save money through automation and robotics in production, as well as through intelligent routing in delivery, which allows essential grocery delivery at a price that is competitive with hypermarket prices rather than having to charge an additional fee or premium. Value is, therefore, crucial.
The freshness continues to be a critical factor in how marketplaces develop globally; when grocery shopping online first takes off, customers are often ready to buy their cans of beans, carrots, or pasta. However, they have no particular desire to purchase their greens. However, when people get more confident about delivering a very fresh product, they start buying new products.
It is evident that once something is successfully implemented, every individual or such entity gets the confidence to repeat it. Online retail markets in the UK have more new sales than the average of the UK grocery market. And the reason why is that the product doesn’t get handled that much.
So, a traditional grocery supply chain means that the product is handled often between the supplier and on the shelf in the store. And the customer has to take that product, put it in the trolley, put it from the trolley to the belt, and in the car’s boot to back home.
Next is Range and Choice. Giving more range than other systems is another area where technology has been studied. The selection is better than any supermarket or hypermarket. To provide consumers with fantastic options and the chance to discover goods like exotic veggies they won’t find anywhere else.
Dark Store and E-Commerce
The 10-minute delivery model online by top e-commerce development companies in the United Kingdom like Blinkit and Zepto is risking people’s lives for non-essential deliveries like noodles and bread. They surround an atmosphere of urgency, or what is known as a ‘dark store.’ They are always in a hurry and get a salary based on the number of deliveries they make. Some riders have met the unfortunate roads and often go unreported.
This model should be preserved for essential services like medicines and ambulances until we switch to drone delivery.
Parting Thoughts
2020 was a big year for growth and demand worldwide, which created a significant challenge for many retailers who had to assess how they would keep up with that demand. Online and offline shopping must go hand-in-hand to enhance the customer experience and adequately serve people’s needs. The good news is that every grocery retailer globally has prioritized e-commerce store development, even in underdeveloped countries. This shift will help to ensure that everyone’s needs can be met in the coming years.