Want to start an online grocery store? – Here’s what you should know

If you dream of owning your own online store regardless are you setting up a small Business for the first time or you’ve been in the game a long time, this guide will help you learn how to start an online store.

Online selling, better known as e-commerce, has truly hit its pace. Fortunately, getting started is easier than you might think provided you have basic information about the business (which we will cover here) and you have a team of ecommerce website store solution experts to get the things implemented.

Accenture estimates, by the end of 2020, the ecommerce industry will get 13.5% of the revenue share. What does it mean for online store owners? It means that out of every 7 dollars spent on retail consumption; eCommerce will get about 1 dollar.

Online Grocery Store Business Model

Follow these simple steps to opening a successful online business:

No matter what your requirements may be, you have a promising Grocery market at every corner of the world. Imagine hundreds of people shopping for groceries online to please their family’s appetite. Starting your business in the right way can help you make huge profits.

Here’s a quick guide to creating your own online grocery store:
Once you’ve decided to build an online grocery store or an app, look for the market demands. Try to get an idea about what consumers are looking for. See what the market condition is; determine what products or services get a larger market share. If the consumers are willing to pay for convenience or want off-hours Delivery times, then you can think of such a niche for targeting potential clients. You can start with offering free delivery on the first order or promotional discounts at first, to begin with. This will attract more and more customers.

Ways to Determine Target Audience for Online Shopping Store

• Try to Know Your Audience
• Picture Your Potential Customers
• List down Your Potential Customers
• Segment Your Customers
• Take Surveys and Customer Feedback
• Identify Their Need and Try to solve it With Your Business
• Know Your Promoters
• Stalk Your Competitors
• Re-evaluate Your Marketing Efforts

Identify the delivery region
This is a major factor that determines the popularity and success of your business. If you are planning to start an eCommerce business, then you should determine the delivery regions you will be serving. For instance, if you are planning to sell fresh groceries or vegetables, you would have to deliver them to a limited region only. In order to plan your grocery business, you need to plan to set up your office, warehouse, or tie-up with local grocery shops to fulfill the orders.

Identify Target Regions with these Market Analysis Questions

• What are the features of your business, products or services?
• What are the benefits of these features?
• How do the benefits help the user?
• How does your target market shop?
• What is the typical age and gender of your target market? Do they usually have children? What is their average income and education?
• What are their common interests? These can include attitudes, values, and lifestyle.
• Is your target market comfortable with online? What web and offline marketing methods engage them?

Register your business
Once you have decided your online grocery business, you should register your company, take necessary permissions from the authorities, and get all the different types of tax submission. Seek professional advice from any registered tax consultant or chartered accountant for all the formalities to get started.

Inventory
The arrangement of inventory can be done in two ways – either you can stock up the products or tie-up with local grocery store initially. The best way to start is to prepare a list of products and make arrangements for that.

Finalize delivery models

76% of online shoppers use home delivery versus only 39% using click and collect. As the grocery business relies on home delivery, it can be a matter of concern. Business owners planning to start an online grocery store should figure out the options for delivery. Some customers may need same day delivery while some others might look for next day delivery for groceries online. Make arrangements for the delivery timelines for all the orders. Before starting your business, you would also need to decide the range of delivery areas like 5km, 10km or 15km radius within the city. You also need to hire a few delivery boys with bikes to manage deliveries.

Word of caution – Online shoppers evidently prefer the convenience of the most expensive “delivery” method for retailers, but do not like paying for it.

Website and mobile app development
When starting a grocery eCommerce store, you need to spend some time planning your goals and expectations for your company. One should look for experienced and expert web developers and mobile app development companies to create an outstanding online store solution. A good website and mobile app development agency can help you achieve your business goals.

Payment methods

What payment methods are used on your website or app for accepting payment is important. Along with debit or credit card, you can provide an option of Cash on delivery (COD) also to make it easier for the users to place online orders. You would be able to save money on payment gateway costs by accepting COD.

Customer acquisition
Marketing plays an important role in customer acquisition. You can try different methods of advertising online and offline to grab the attention of the users. Talk to a few digital marketers to get an idea about the promotional activities that can help your business grow. Offering discounts and coupons can also help you get some customers.

Check out your competition
Keep an eye on the activities done by competitors and compare their offerings. Pay attention to their offers and plan your marketing strategy in such a way that you can beat the competition. Assess the price structures and delivery policies of your competitors from time to time.

To conclude
Shopping on apps is becoming a common trend these days. Online grocery shopping is also a hot trend these days with a lot of consumers purchasing groceries online to save their time, money, and efforts. As grocery consumption is one of the basic human needs, people are developing new apps to make the lives of people easier. If you want to build your online grocery app, i-Verve is there to help.