When it comes to eCommerce, the Hyperlocal Delivery market is probably having a good time riding the tide. After all, this capitalised space is witnessing a boom in demand for doorstep deliveries. We all know that after the national lockdown was announced by the GOI, one thing that unanimously happened among the people of India was that they started opting for online grocery delivery service and renowned brands like Swiggy, Zomato and more started cashing out on the desires of the customers by providing streamlined deliveries to them.

But like every industry, this particular business space also has its limitations. And today, we are going to discuss the top 5 challenges in the Hyperlocal delivery brand space during these ongoing pandemic times. Let’s keep reading to know more!

1. A Highly Competitive Industry

Grocery shopping has changed for the better. Offline markets are almost gone and consumers are getting increasingly drawn to online grocery stores for making purchases. Therefore, what we’ve seen since the beginning is that the hyperlocal market in India has been thoroughly competitive and the scenario has been no different even during the pandemic. Due to the restricted movement regulations on people and goods, consumers are relying on doorstep supermarket delivery and hence, an increasing number of brands are delving into this space.

And not just that – these brand are coming up with equally competitive benefits and services to attract consumers. Therefore, it is getting tougher for the hyperlocal delivery brands to expand their presence through new, innovative ways during these tough times.

• Lack of Manpower Due to Reverse Migration

Yes, this new vertical has found fame and an endless amount of business during the COVID-19 times. However, due to reverse migration, there has surfaced a lack of manpower to cater to this rising demand. Hyperlocal delivery brands like Swiggy, Dunzo, Amazon etc are generating blue-collar jobs in the market to fulfil this elevating demand for cost-effective home deliveries. However, it is difficult to execute the same when most migrant labourers have already gone back to their hometowns.

• Irregular Operations Due to COVID-19 Regulations

This is what your typical Indian grocery delivery was going through during the initial phases of the COVID-19 lockdown –  On paper, it was quite easy to deliver the essentials and non-essentials to the doorsteps of the customers through hyperlocal delivery partners. However, in the field, the implementation of these rules issued by the GOI wasn’t happening in the most prudent manner, henceforth, hampering customer satisfaction due to such operational obstacles.

• Lack of Awareness About the Hyperlocal Delivery Industry

Online is the new offline. Online shopping portals are enjoying the incoming of a lot of business, at the moment. However, at the same time, there are countless small kirana store owners even now who are still not well aware of the benefits that can be extracted from launching hyperlocal delivery services for their customers.

To make sure that your customers have the option to buy from the local grocery delivery services through an online platform, the hyperlocal delivery brands have to spend an eye-opening amount on online and offline marketing. So, these companies don’t just have to bear the cost of logistics, but also have to bear a significant cost of marketing to ensure that the small and medium kirana store owners have a fair idea of how the hyperlocal delivery business model can help them grow their own businesses in this pandemic-infested world.

• Additional Cost Levied by the Hyperlocal Brands

Your online grocery shopping service might be charging an additional fee to ensure that their online store gets visibility on their tech-enabled platforms. Small and medium sellers are already floundering to bear their businesses’ operational costs, currently.  They might as well have no option in such a case, considering that the store that shells out money to promote their store on a particular hyperlocal delivery app gets more orders than the one that doesn’t do so.

This might be one of the challenges during COVID-19 for those sellers who don’t want to bear any extra cost for strengthening their store’s presence on these hyperlocal delivery apps.

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