Top 10 Features For a Successful Online Grocery Marketplace

6 min readSep 8, 2020

Updated on 03.04.2021

Online grocery players like Instacart, Shipt, Big Basket, Fresh Direct, etc., are reshaping the grocery landscape. Further, the outbreak of COVID-19 fueled the growth of the online grocery industry.

The grocery shopping habits of consumers encountered a drastic change in the last few months. Are these habits going to stick to the people once life returns to normal? Well, according to industry experts, this habit is going to stay forever with us.

Launching an online grocery marketplace in 2021 seems to be one of the most profitable eCommerce business ideas amidst the pandemic and even for the post-COVID world. The graph is continuously moving upward for the online grocery industry opening many doors for aspiring entrepreneurs.

Here are some reasons why people prefer online grocery shopping (source: snapcart):

Every reason mentioned above is somehow about convenience. Not to mention, the convenience factor here, will also be completely dependent on the features and functionalities of your online grocery marketplace. As long as you can add value to your products and services, you will survive the competitive edge.

Moving forward, let’s explore the various features that are crucial for the success of your online grocery delivery business.

Must-Have Features For An Online Grocery Delivery Marketplace

Geolocation Based Listing

Popular names of the eGrocery industry like Instacart are operating their online grocery business based on the hyperlocal business model.

A hyperlocal delivery model can be defined as an online business model in which the on-demand needs of customers are met through local offline grocery shops via a digital platform. The stores and products are listed and shown to the buyers, based on their geolocation. The marketplace detects their location through GPS or buyers can even manually enter it.

This is a must-have feature for online businesses, especially online grocery delivery marketplaces. So, make sure that you choose a grocery delivery software that comes with a geolocation feature.

Product Catalog

Managing product data is a very big challenge for the sellers. Today’s customer expects the sellers to mention every detail of the product. This is where the Product Catalog comes into the picture.

A product catalog is simply a database of information about all the products that you want to offer on the website. The information contained in the catalog can be subdivided in a number of ways.

This is all that you can manage using the product catalogue:

Shops — Add/edit/view/delete
Categories — Add/edit/view/delete
Products — Add/edit/view/delete
Seller Inventory — Add/edit/view/delete
Shop Reviews — Add/edit/view/delete
Brands-Add/edit/view/delete
Options-Add/edit/view/delete
Custom product catalog request

Rocket-speed Delivery

The hyperlocal business model is all about timely delivery of the ordered products. Since the orders get broadcasted to the nearby delivery boys, that ensures lightning-fast delivery of the groceries.

Did you know that according to a consumer study by Oracle Retail, 13% of consumers would never order from the retailer if the delivery is late?

Well, that explains how important it is to ensure that you are delivering groceries faster to your customers.

Delivery Scheduler

This feature has been gaining popularity in recent times. It enables consumers to schedule the delivery of the grocery order based on their availability. They can choose their preferred day and time at their convenience.

To integrate such a feature into your online grocery delivery marketplace, you will need robust grocery delivery software with effective grocery management system. This feature has been in demand amid the COVID-19 outbreak.

Let’s take a look at more features that can ensure the safety of your customers as well as shoppers during a pandemic like situation:

Click and Collect (BOPIS)

Click and Collect feature is the ideal blend of online and offline shopping experience. It allows the shoppers to order the products online and pick them in-store at their convenience.

With this feature, you can create a seamless shopping experience for your omnichannel consumers.

Research shows that almost half of U.S. shoppers use click-and-collect methods for groceries.

BOPIS has been gaining popularity amid the pandemic. After years of consumers preferring doorstep delivery, coronavirus has helped put click & collect back on the map. Many grocery companies started offering click and collect options to their buyers recently. This is for sure a very crucial factor for an online grocery delivery marketplace.

**Freshstmart.com providing Click-and-collect Locker Facility amid the Coronavirus**

Multiple Payment Gateways

Payment gateways like Stripe, PayPal, COD, Bank Transfer, Amazon Pay, etc., should be integrated into your grocery marketplace. It helps the user to choose their preferred payment option, and it further leads to quick and hassle-free payment processing.

**Payment Integrations provided by Growcer**

Providing your customers with the most popular and trusted payment methods makes them feel secure while making the payments. It eventually helps in trust-building.

Real-Time Notifications

Adding a real-time notification system in your grocery marketplace can help the users in many ways.

The sellers will receive instant notifications for every critical activity taking place on the platform. It can also help the delivery person get real-time updates about the new orders. Similarly, the buyer will also get notifications related to the orders, special offers, etc.

Route Navigation

The timely delivery of the groceries will be possible only if the delivery partner is aware of the route and the exact address of the customer.

Make sure that you enable easy route navigation to sellers’ and buyers’ locations for the delivery partner. It will facilitate quicker deliveries and cultivate a great user experience.

Click And Call To Sellers And Buyers

If the delivery partner has any query related to an order, he/she can directly call the buyer or seller with just one click.

A feature like this ensures the delivery of the right order at the right place at the right time.

Order substitutions

Don’t make customers wait for back-ordered items, instead offer them product substitutions. This feature is used when a product cannot be filled at the current time due to a lack of available supply. It shows the best possible substitute for the unavailable products so that the buyer can choose one from them.

The primary benefit of this feature is greater customer satisfaction.

Best Grocery Delivery Software to Launch Online Grocery Marketplace

Above are the must-have features in a multi-vendor grocery marketplace that not only streamline the supply chain but also provide a unified experience to admin (marketplace owner), sellers, buyers, and delivery staff.

Growcer is a grocery delivery software that comes with all these features to empower any entrepreneur, VP- of processes, and logistics, SMBs, large enterprises to launch their multivendor grocery marketplace.