In this pandemic age, the on-demand economy is thriving at an unprecedented pace. Driven by people’s compelling necessity of ordering online and getting delivery at the doorstep, the on-demand delivery services have shown tremendous growth. Be it food delivery, grocery delivery, or household services, the on-demand model has shown a great potential to survive and thrive amid the quarantine time.
Talking about grocery delivery, Instacart, Walmart Grocery, and Shipt have set new records in the number of downloads from February to March 2020. Even the startups can take inspiration from their huge success in terms of a surge in daily downloads by 218%, 160%, and 124% respectively. If you want to capitalize on this trend, here is your guide to a successful grocery delivery business.
Seven Steps to Consider while Starting Grocery Delivery Business in 2020
1.Research and Planning- Let’s start from scratch. A clear roadmap is a key to success for your grocery delivery business. But, you need to do extensive research on market trends, competitor activities, and interests of your target audience before making a roadmap. Also, you need to define how much you can charge customers for grocery delivery. In this competitive age, it is imperative to provide free delivery to your customers. Also, you need to make a list of the costs involved in your grocery delivery business. Some of these costs include your drivers’ insurance policies and marketing budget for your business. On the other hand, you can ask app users to take membership and get a lot of benefits to make money.
2.Legal Procedure- You can start your grocery business through any of these prevalent business models- sole proprietorship, limited liability company (LLC), corporation, or partnership. LLC or corporation models involve more legal procedures but they can effectively protect you if your grocery business is sued for some reason in the future.
Before initiating the legal procedure and register your business for taxes, you need to find out an attractive name that represents your business effectively and people start spreading it as a big brand. Once the name is decided, you need to take a domain with the same name and setting up a professional email account name@yourcompany.com using G Suite by Google.
3.Bank Account- After registering your business for taxes, you can open a dedicated business account to protect your personal assets. It is fair to mention that when your personal and business accounts are together in a single account, your personal assets like home and other valuables are at risk especially during adversity. What’s more, your business account can help you get credit cards with a higher credit line and lower interest rates so that you can run your grocery business smoothly. You can use your business account for tax filing and auditing as well.
4.Permits and Licenses- The grocery delivery business needs many permits and licenses. You need to consult a firm that can assist you to obtain these permits or contact your local authorities to know the licensing requirements at the state and local level for your grocery delivery business. If you want to deliver food and medicines to your customers’ doorstep along with groceries, you need to follow stringent food and drug regulations and take all necessary licenses from a local health department.
It is better to stick to grocery delivery initially because regulations for delivery food and drugs are way more complex as compared to those for groceries.
5. Insurance and Security- You can protect your grocery delivery business through insurance. It safeguards your company’s financial wellbeing by handling loss or claims. General liability insurance can be useful for startups and small-scale businesses. You can also opt for drivers’ insurance and worker’s compensation insurance. It can cover expenses related to accidents, mishaps, and compensations for your employees.
6. Web and App- These days, no business can survive and thrive without a strong web and mobile presence. You can consult an on-demand grocery app development company to get insights on the on-demand grocery app with user-friendly features. Also, it is essential to build a robust website for your grocery delivery business. You can build a dedicated website and a feature-rich app in line with your business model. It is beneficial for your business that your business website and app look identical to each other so that your customers can accept them willingly. You can also consider running an online marketing campaign to strengthen your brand’s position and enhance visibility.
7. Branding and Promotion- Last but not least is the branding of your business. A strong brand can help you stay ahead of the curve. Talking about the grocery delivery business, you should monitor your competitors’ promotional activities and come up with your innovative marketing technique. Also, you need to focus on on-time delivery with effective communication through mobile apps to strengthen your position in the market.
You can promote USPs online and using traditional ways to build your brand and leverage the benefits of having a loyal customer base in a short time. Finally, perfection and accuracy are the most important factors to be taken care of because such services can be rejected by people if they are lacking these factors.
Wrapping Up
An on-demand grocery delivery app acts as a bridge between the vendors and customers. All you need to ensure that you can deliver all the orders on time. Also, it is better to integrate user-friendly features like multiple payment options, multilingual support, and order tracking in your grocery delivery app. A robust delivery infrastructure and a seamlessly performing app will contribute to expand your grocery business and increase the customer base.
