5 Reasons Why You Should Consider Online Delivery for Your Grocery Business
Long lines, inconvenient commutes, and heavy grocery bags are just some of the difficulties that we’ve all gotten used to in our daily lives. However, these also provide opportunities for grocery owners thanks to the proliferation of online shopping and app-based solutions. Indeed, these issues can now be addressed by simply adding an online component to your grocery business.
If you play your cards right, you can even put yourself a few steps ahead of your competitors by accommodating online deliveries. By improving the overall customer experience, you can also score points on customer loyalty and make back your investment in the long term.
But if you’re still on the fence on embracing online deliveries for your grocery business, here are just five important reasons why it’s worth consideration.
1. It’s Highly Convenient
Arguably, the main advantage of having anything done online is that they are often much more convenient. And the same is true when you open a channel for online-based deliveries. Though this is more of an advantage for the customer rather than for your business, it’s hard to deny the benefits of catering to your clientele.
You can offer a one- or two-hour time slot for the grocery delivery to make sure that the customer is home to receive the delivery. And if you’re running 24/7, you can also look into providing round-the-clock service as well to match your operating hours.
2. It’s a Major Time Saver
Another benefit of having an online presence for your business is the amount of time it can help save. After all, customers who are willing to opt into deliveries will experience the benefit of not having to line up at the checkout counter. This should also make it easier for your employees to provide better service for those who prefer physically shopping over online transactions.
It’s even possible to cater to customers who are willing to reserve and pay for their purchases online, but still prefer to pick them up personally at the grocery. All in all, having online solutions can even help you minimize the people per shift that you employ. And making processes faster will always lead to better results—and even some extra minutes saved per customer will add up in the long run.
3. It’s Cost Efficient for You and the Customer
On both the customer and the business owner’s end, going online can definitely lead to cost savings. The customer will end up saving on transportation or gas. Meanwhile, a well-integrated online component will allow your business to reduce costs through manpower and even space.
By installing reliable accounting software along with your other POS upgrades, you can even get an accurate and constantly updated picture of how your business is doing. This is thanks to features like cashier accountability and productivity tracking, in addition to many more.
4. It Allows for Automating Inventory Management
It’s best to note that going online and having the infrastructure and software to support it won’t just affect your accounting system. That’s because some modern PoS systems also feature real-time inventory tracking, in addition to some management features as well.
If you’re still keeping track of inventory manually, then going online also opens up an avenue for upgrading your system. This is because it’s important to have up-to-date information on your inventory to remove the risks of having to cancel orders due to insufficient stocks. You can take advantage of features like this to streamline your entire inventory checking process, benefitting your entire business as a whole.
5. It Makes Expansion Easier
One of the other best things about online businesses is that you can undertake expansions at a lower cost. After all, you can start servicing a bigger area without necessarily having to construct a new branch or make drastic changes to your infrastructure.
If your grocery provides online delivery services, you can expand by simply increasing your delivery range or by adding some extra deliver staff members and vehicles. Indeed, pushing your grocery business online allows you to tap into a new source of customers without having to sink in as much money just to reach out to them.
Although traditional brick-and-mortar retailers will be here to stay, they are growing vulnerable to the growth of online shopping. This is just as true for owners of retail businesses like groceries. With the Philippines having an estimated Internet penetration rate at about 54 percent, not having an online element closes your business off to can’t-miss opportunities. So consider expanding your services and look into online solutions as the next untapped area for growth.
