With the growing interest of consumers to order goods and services online, undoubtedly it is an attractive business idea, for anyone who is interested in starting an online business.

Since there are plenty of grocery delivery options out there, the question remains, where is the consumer gap?

The hyper-local on-demand businesses operate mainly within large urban areas, and rural consumers do not have as much access to grocery delivery. Therefore, it is a very interesting potential customer segment to look into. 

According to Orian Research, between 2020 and 2025, the worldwide online grocery market would increase at a CAGR of 23.7percent.

According to another study, the grocery eCommerce market is predicted to grow to $250 billion in the next five years. 

How to build a successful grocery delivery platform? 

Select the right business model 

When you are looking into starting out an online grocery delivery platform, the primary aspect to take into consideration is selecting the right business model. Would you like to have your own inventory and be in full charge of the stock tracking?

Or do you prefer to collaborate with many selected shops, and not have actual storage space?

Those are the things that you will have to analyze and take into account when creating a business model for your grocery delivery. 

Pick a customizable software 

There are many software providers out there, and unfortunately, not all of them have the capability to customize your ordering platform in the way that you would like.

Before making the decision on which provided to choose, create an outline of features and visuals that you would like to have present on your website and application.

Having a list of features that are a must and the ones that are optional will help you to create an excellent platform that is functional, competitive, and represents your brand visually. 

Target customers in rural areas 

Although, the hyper-local model is an excellent choice, targeting a larger geographical scope of customers also has its benefits.

The customers residing in the rural areas do not have as many options when it comes to same-day delivery, due to the distances.

This is an opportunity for a grocery delivery application that is just entering the market, as the playing field is not as competitive, as it would be in a highly-populated area.

As a new grocery delivery business, you can make rural residents a target market for your marketing campaigns and build a solid scope of loyal customers. 

Have a wide range of products for different budgets  

The demand in rural areas, in particular, varies greatly. Due to social and economical disparities, the population in rural areas varies from low income to very high income.

Many wealthy individuals invest in living in rural areas by choice, in order to live in a more secluded area, while others come from low-income families.

When starting an on-demand grocery delivery business, targeting rural areas, it is important to include a wide range of price points. 

Excellent delivery and tracking system 

One of the features that are a must when setting up a grocery delivery platform is real-time tracking.

Especially when targeting customers in rural areas, having a reliable delivery system, and allowing them to track their order.

Building a strong delivery system is going to make you more available in the rural areas, and increase your popularity in those regions.

Whether you choose to target rural or urban areas, an excellent delivery system with real-time tracking and push notifications, is something that will allow you to build a strong reputation as a brand and become competitive among large third-party platforms. 

Order and return management 

Having an excellent system in place that will show you all the pending, completed, and missed orders is going to help you manage the inventory (especially if you choose to follow the inventory model), as well as allow you to maintain a very high quality of service.

Additionally, this is going to be useful took, when measuring statistics of your orders and keeping track of your customer’s purchasing patterns and times. 

Variety of payment options 

Another key element of making a strong entrance into the grocery delivery market is having a vast variety of payment options for your customers.

Especially, if you are not targeting a hyper-local area, but a larger geographical scope, it is crucial for you to be accessible to the different needs and wants of customers, and to cater to their preferred payment methods. 

If you would like to start an on-demand grocery delivery business today, but you are not sure where to start, check out the Ordering platform.

You can be sure to be well assisted by one of their specialists, and you do not need to be a pro in technology to get your website and application set up in less than a week.