What can a local grocery store learn from supermarket chains?
With the news constantly telling us to stay home and stay safe, it’s not surprising that so many of us have turned to online options to do our weekly grocery shop.
But as we try to book delivery slots – without much joy sometimes, it has become increasingly clear how limited our online options are. You need only look at the table below to see where consumers are spending their grocery cash in the UK, Germany and the US. It is with the big names – and why is this? Because smaller grocery stores, independents, and even symbol group franchisee owners just don’t have the available funds, technical expertise, or resources to build, run and manage their own online shops.
In the UK, Tesco has a whopping 20% of the market share online, with Sainsbury’s and Asda following behind with 11% each, leaving a little manoeuvrability for mid-size brands such as Iceland and HelloFresh. But for any consumer trying to book an online delivery slot with any of these names knows, they are all at capacity, which means that smaller vendors with an online presence have the opportunity to grab some of this market share, while generating a new revenue stream for their business.
Figure 1: Top vendors providing food/grocery online shopping services
Note: Graph and statistics were sourced from statista.com
What does this mean to you as a local shop
owner?
The stats speak for themselves. As we
continue to live in uncertain times due to the ongoing pandemic, consumers are
going to increasingly look online for safer grocery shopping options. This trend isn’t
going away. If you are a local shop owner and want to cater to your local
community, you cannot just rely on having your bricks-and-mortar store open. To
stay afloat and compete with these big-name supermarkets, you must take action
to diversify your business and create an online sales channel. You have already
built strong bonds with your local community, now is the time to take that
relationship online.
So, what are your next steps?
First, you must decide how to learn from and use this online grocery trend in your favour. If you think the right move for you is an online shop, but don’t know where to start, don’t worry. Unlike the big players, you don’t have to invest huge amounts of money and resources to create your own webstore. Instead, you can just ask us for help. The team at Localsupplies.com will take you through our easy step-by-step process, helping you set up your online shop in just three working days.
Register your interest with us here, and we’ll be in touch. Before you know it, you’ll be serving your local community again in a new way, and you’ll find your business growing during and beyond this pandemic.
In case you have any queries, feel free to drop me a line at [email protected]
What is Localsupplies.com?
Localsupplies.com is a multi-vendor, multi-sector online marketplace with a mission to empower local shops increase their revenue by quickly selling products online. We are building a community that connects shop owners with local shoppers to help the local economy thrive.
We deliver a better, faster, cheaper and scalable way for you to have an online presence without having to create your own e-com store. Plus, you don’t have to worry about technical issues, site running or maintenance. We handle all that for you.