What are the must-have features for eCommerce grocery delivery business amid COVID-19? (other than contactless delivery)

Online grocery shopping apps have seen a record number of daily downloads amid severely spreading Coronavirus all across the world. The food supply apps have also started supplying groceries to needy customers to help them during the pandemic. 

The government has also started taking initiatives with bringing in helpful sweeping policy measures for the deadly coronavirus. Vegetables and grocery packets are being delivered by the government officials, as per the online and calling demands of the customers. 

When the dine-in and retail businesses have reached to the downside today, online deliveries have increased in the majority of markets impacted by the coronavirus outbreak. If you are still planning to have an ecommerce grocery delivery business, it is not too late yet. You can always start this business by taking some extra precautionary measures so that you and your customers back can remain safe from the virus and supply quality deliverables on time. Contactless delivery is one important feature that your business should adopt. Nationwide lockdowns in different countries force the brands to react as well as find viable solutions. Carriers face difficulties in delivering shipments to households in quarantined cities. Therefore, companies are constantly trying to implement systems that check if any specific delivery is possible or not. Your delivery person should be able to follow all the norms as requested by your customer in terms of contact-less supply of groceries to their doorstep. Some other important must-have features are:

#1. Availability of all major product types from grocery essentials, dairy products, household items, organic produce, to various beverages from local and national brands. 

#2. Mobile-friendly app and integration of essential pickup and delivery feature into the app to serve grocery to the customers.

#3. Proper set-up of the same-day or every week delivery slot with some advanced personalization features for regular customers. 

#4. Building the digital experience of the customers with integrating the app to the warehouse economics and identifying the user processes and patterns that generate results for the shoppers. 

#5. Utilization of Machine Learning technology to quickly make changes to the item availability model to provide more up-to-date information to the shoppers when they open their app to shop. They are called the behind-the-scenes updates.

#6. Different batches like out-of-stock, low-in-stock, high-rated products, etc. should be made visible to the shoppers.

#7. Initiation of the ‘Leave at my door’ policy that is actually like contactless delivery during the current crisis period. Better safety and hygiene policies should be assured and educated to the users. 

#8. Update the users if there are any changes to the delivery timings and policies. For example, informing people about business operational hours, city-based delivery slots, creating banners and sending push notifications keep the users updated with your delivery terms and policies. 

#9. Engaging the new and existing users across multiple channels and bringing them back to your app with further options of contactless delivery. 

#10. Use the Smart Product Discovery feature to help users make an informed purchase decision. 

#11. Use recommendations feature to speed up product discovery. 

#12. Leveraging purchase progress and social proof to assure shoppers feel comfortable about their online purchase. 

#13. Encouraging users to choose cashless transactions, restricting them from going to banks.

#14. Welcome new users, as, during the COVID-19 pandemic, more number of offline shoppers are switching to shopping online for supplying their daily essentials and food needs. 

#15. Sending post-delivery surveys for collecting feedback. 

#16. Incentivizing users for downloading your app.

#17. Hiring Optimization Managers to act on the surge in traffic. 

Today, more users are practicing social distancing and undertaking efforts to stop the spread of COVID-19. Being an e-grocery supplier, it is your responsibility as well to help them in practicing this with ease. This is because your services have become a vital asset for society today when the entire world is struggling hard during the pandemic. Serve your customers best and ensure the safety of your employees to get the best out of this job.

Amid Coronavirus pandemic, many people are turning to online grocery delivery services to stop the spread of the virus. This sudden shift has led to a rise in orders as alongside on-ground challenges for various online grocery marketplaces. In such a situation, grocers must follow precautionary measures to safeguard their customers & employees from the risk of getting infected from this lethal virus. 

Watch out this video to gain insights into some more crucial features (other than contactless delivery) that could help you operate your grocery business amid the Coronavirus crisis. 

Now let's discuss these features in detail:

Online/Digital Payments

Paying online for your order is the safest way at the moment to deter the spread of the virus. Your grocery software must have 10-12 popular payment gateways that enable buyers to transact easily and flexibly. Leverage multiple payment options like credit or debit cards, e-wallets, net banking, etc. for safer and secure cashless transactions.

Informative Content Sharing Through Blog Section

You can grab your customer's attention by providing them with the latest updates regarding COVID-19 pandemic through blog posts. It is best to educate your audience about the precautionary measures being followed by the delivery boys and Grocery Stores so that they feel safe.

BOPIS/Click & Collect

You must have the BOPIS (Buy Online Pick-up in Store) feature to facilitate your customers with contactless pickups to limit the in-person interaction. It allows your buyers to place an order online and pick up it from the designated spot with ease and convenience. Customers will be notified through text message, email, or push notification regarding the store-pickup location.

Order Delivery Scheduler

With the help of this feature, allow buyers to decide the delivery date and time as per their convenience. They can schedule the order delivery during the relaxation hours (early morning or late evening) issued by the government.

Inventory Tracking

This feature can help you track and manage your inventory to streamline your grocery supply chain. You can keep an eye on your product's stock to alleviate the panic buying situation during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Please comment if I have missed any feature :)

COVID-19 has disrupted every industry across the globe. An eCommerce grocery delivery business is no exception. Having said that, the job of business owners is to keep up with the changing times and adapt to the present conditions. For online grocery delivery businesses, the following are some additional features to consider in the ongoing pandemic: 

• Offer Various Delivery Options 

After the pandemic, people have become wary of anyone and everyone coming to their place. Even with online deliveries, a significant number of customers are choosing contactless deliveries. Don’t forget that in all this chaos, there are people who are managing both work and home from the same place. An option to choose a specific delivery time will make their lives more convenient. 

• Improved Pickup Services

Yes, contactless delivery became extremely popular in the lockdown as it was the best way to remain protected from COVID-19. However, as the normal lives of people resumed, work and other activities reopened, they needed an option to pick up their groceries on the way but at the same time keep social distancing. Hence, online grocery delivery businesses should give other options to pick up things like in-store pickup and curbside pick up. Both the options will ensure social distancing and the safety of the customers. 

• Match Demand & Supply 

Online grocery delivery businesses should run Geo Targeted ads to show customers offers and available items in their respective areas. In this manner, the business will be showing ads only when there is enough stock, demand, and courier personnel to complete the transaction smoothly. In this situation, when customers get a seamless user experience, they are more likely to return to your app/website to shop in the long run. 

Conclusion 

This is the perfect time for all the eCommerce grocery delivery businesses to analyze and change their marketing strategies to make the most out of this post quarantine time period. Add whatever features you may think are necessary to further enhance user-experience and watch your business grow at a rapid pace.