How Will Covid-19 Change Grocery Shopping for Good?
As the pandemic continues to spread, everyone’s learned to make adjustments. From working at home, to attending online classes and virtual meet-ups with friends, people are getting used to the new normal in every aspect of their lives. Could grocery shopping, then,be left behind?
Health and safety concerns reign supreme, so people are changing their buying behaviour. Families with senior members, children and pregnant women are especially looking for safe ways to shop that can limit exposure to the virus. This has put e-commerce into overdrive.
Online Grocery shopping has grown by leaps and bounds, as most retail stores closed shop. The few who managed to sustain operations struggled due to supply chain issues, decreasing customers and mounting costs.
But it isn’t just going to the store that has changed. Retailers need to adapt to further aspects like consumer shifts to alternate brands and no-touch sales. If things eventually return to normal, how many of these changes will be irreversible?Will their impact be indelible?
Redefined Health and Safety Standards
The pandemic has been a reality check for communities everywhere. People have been forced to change their mindset when it comes to hygiene.Sure, as restrictions ease, consumers will be anxious to head outside — it’s what they miss the most. Some would resume in-store purchases as they miss puttering around even for a few — or no — items. However, these visits might only be weekly or fortnightly. A tech-savvy consumer would’ve already realised the convenience of shopping online, and will continue their adventures with their digital shopping carts.
While e-retailers prepare for consistent demand and growth, local store-owners should think about safety measures to adopt as they reopen after restrictions. Providing gloves, masks and face shields to employees, and having rulesin place for shoppers — mandatory face masks, limited in-story entry for social distancing — are some starting points.
Shift to Local
According to a McKinsey report, consumers are likely to express a strong preference to local brands over international ones. This is to protect local and small businesses and boost their national economy. To accommodate this, retailers will have to adjust their supply chain to include more of healthy, grassroots and locally-sourced products.
Decline in Discretionary Spending
The pandemic has wreaked havoc on the economy, as businesses gear up to cope with a recession. Downing shutters and announcing job and/or salary cuts feels inevitable. Everyone’s insecure about the future and has,therefore, cut back on discretionary spending. Consumers are buying apparel and accessories only when necessary, with only the most privileged choosing to spend on recreational items. Even in groceries, there are lower chances of impulse-buying and spontaneous behavior now, and it might be the norm for a while.
Building Business with Tech
Thanks to the nationwide lock down, our reliance on technology to bridge gaps has increased. People rely on digital channels now to work, learn, socialise, entertain them selves or buy goods. As more and more people get comfortable with online shopping for groceries, retailers must figure out ways to ramp up their logistics, supply chains and online business model to meet current and future demands.
To expand e-commerce operations, there’s much that can be done. Business owners are showing a willingness to grow with digital, by:
· Introducing contactless options like digital payments and no-touch checkouts
· Leveraging technology to boost their supply and delivery network
· Expanding warehouses and cold storage facilities and using inventory software to catalogue their goods
As the community of e-retailers grows in India, players like Baabae offer learning lessons that can help stores sustain profits and stand out. An Indian logistics and technology start-up, Baabae optimises the delivery of groceries and household essentials through a mobilised seller model.
An on-demand technology platform, Baabae encourages sellers to go asset-light to avoid incurring operational costs. Retailers can convert part or whole of their store into a mobile van, where they receive orders through Baabae’s central order tracking system. Each van has its own designated area for service,and is able to deliver orders to a customer’s doorstep much faster than other e-grocery providers.
This unique model kills two birds with one stone. Not only does Baabae give hard-hit retailers an opportunity to keep their store going, but it also reduces the delivery wait-time for consumers to 30 minutes or less, offering speed when they need it the most.
Conclusion
Covid-19 has left its imprint on consumer spending in so many ways. Even after the pandemic winds down, shoppers may find themselves buying groceries online with an increased appeal. Retailers, of course, will have to reimagine and reconfigure their business model to meet new and growing demands. Tapping into the changing industry ecosystem, and an openness to working with new business partners, could help store owners navigate the road ahead. The sales vision is no longer about meeting customer demands — in 2020, retailers must also factor in community well-being.
Consumers are watching keenly. Each brand’s sensitivity to the crisis — no matter how big or small the company — will be a prime driver of loyalty going forward.
