After the downfalls of giants of online grocery it seems only fitting that the grocers themselves win out. From rubble of Webvan to Peapod strategies for online grocery are being reformed in today's real world of e-business.
This missing link or the concept itself got a little twisted with all this online hype. Did anyone ever ask the consumer how they would really like to do online shopping? The models derived from the many upstart and now down turn e-businesses had more concept than profit and more blue sky than investors would like.
But in all reality, the grocers need to thank these web based firms. They kick started what could be a revolution in grocery shopping. Only this time around it will be delivered by the true experts in the field, "the grocery operators themselves". These operators are the closest to the customers and the ones closest to fulfilling a concept that many thought was on a downturn.
On the contrary, online grocery shopping lives! The fulfillment process is the magic key. Like the many intrepid souls before, figuring out a way to deliver to the consumer was the key to making this all work. The retailer of today does not want to take the customer away from the store completely; after all, they spend millions in trying to get them there in the first place. The consumer still wants to save time and have it be more convenient, so the big question was how do you get the best of both worlds?
Over the past two years there have been retailers and technology companies working on concepts that went on a complete different path than e-commerce bandwagon. These companies were working on the concept of what is known as click and mortar applications. Taking the strengths of the online world and combining it with the real world of business.
Order-Matic Corporation created a fulfillment concept that allows grocers to utilize their strengths of brand awareness and customer penetration while still offering the convenience of the web. By developing an on-site customer fulfillment concept that involves both drive-thru technology and communication systems, Order-Matic Corporation has brought the ability to leverage the web to all grocers regardless of size.
The model in unique and very effective. A consumer places an order on the e-commerce site of the grocer. We have seen a combination of concepts in this phase of the process. The first being a commerce site ran and developed by the grocers themselves and the second being Grocers signing up with e-commerce hubs that utilizes the power of a canned e-commerce engine. Companies like Net Grocer and GroceryKart.com are providing these services for nominal fees.
Once the consumer has placed the online order they are provided an earliest pickup time in conjunction with their order information (we are seeing these as early a 2 hours from the online order). The consumer visits the store they normally frequent and they pull up to one of Order-Matic's new e-Pedestals and push a button. This notifies an attendant inside the store that a customer has arrived. Voice communication begins much like a drive-thru process, the customer states they are there to pickup their online order. This order has already been pulled and staged and is delivered right to the car in a matter of minutes. The consumer never leaves the car and is greeted with an old fashion grocery delivery.
They leave with a smile on their face and with an experience that has left the grocer in a positive light. This model combines the power of click and mortar and brings the retailers to a place of customer satisfaction that has yet to be achieved in the online grocery shopping experience.
For more information on this service model, you can go to the link below and see in great detail how this could work for your grocery operation.
https://www.ordermatic.com/pickup_system.htm
Story submitted by: Paul Barron National Dir. Sales & Marketing Order-Martic Corp.
Order-Matic Corporation