Several months after the virus strain first appeared in Wuhan, the capital of China’s Hubei province, the world continues to battle the pandemic that has swept across continents and has claimed innumerable lives. After that, grocery delivery apps rose to huge popularity and encouraged stay-at-home shopping with convenience.
As nations enforce lockdowns then and now and activate stay-at-home campaigns, several industries are toiling to stay afloat. However, the recent social restrictions have, in effect, accelerated the growth and adoption of the online grocery concept. Considered one of the most underpenetrated sectors amid the larger e-commerce spectrum, e-grocery has taken an unparalleled flight.
The Coronavirus outbreak has brought many major industries in India to a halt. But the country’s major grocery delivery apps sector has seen a unique & powerful opportunity to accelerate. Not to forget, the Stay at Home protocol issued by every country to combat the spread of the virus has proven to be a game-changer for the online grocery delivery sector.
The Impact of Covid-19 & Grocery Delivery Apps
In the aftermath of the Covid-19 infection, a lot has changed. Before the Covid-19 spread, the e-grocery market in the Gulf Countries and Egypt constituted less than 1 percent of the e-commerce industry. 60 percent always preferred to buy groceries at physical stores, according to online grocery retail by WAMDA. But social distancing & the homebound rules has seen online grocery shopping go mainstream.
Grocery delivery apps have seen an astounding number of downloads, according to data revealed by app intelligence provider Apptopia. Apps have witnessed a surge of 218 percent, 160 percent, and 124 percent, respectively in March, compared to the average daily downloads in February. Regionally, online grocery players are also stepping up their game, some adding to their fleet while others are raising capital.
The important reason for being a higher trust factor in home-cooked meals. On a lighter note, an evident fact that can be supported with the increasing number of online searches for food recipes. The fear of delivery personnel transmitting the disease is high today and will stay for a while.
Change In Grocery Shopping – Highs & Lows
With supermarkets shut and the Kirana stores not able to deliver and keep up with the demand, the grocery app delivery platforms are being looked at as the saviors. This has led to an array of new players joining the sector. Snapdeal, Zomato, Uber, Dominos, Paytm Mall, Shopclues, and few others have entered the grocery delivery space.
While BigBasket is witnessing a doubled growth with the size of the baskets larger by 15-20%, Grofers sale also spiked 80%. Grocery delivery apps are a must-have in one’s phone. For as many of us who are panic-buying ration and essentials and are flipping out at the sight of empty shelves at grocery stores, dozens are completely forgoing an in-store experience and switching to mobile food delivery applications for buying all the essentials.
With sufficient negative aura hovering around us, we’re not going to dig further the devastation of economies. Instead, we focus on how technology like grocery delivery apps are helping people.
Grocery Delivery Apps Are Keeping The Economy Alive
We all know governments are doing their very best to make the saying “The Show Must Go On” amid the pandemic a reality. Grocery delivery apps are economy-boosters. People have realized that instead of going to a market and being amid people it is way easier to order online through delivery applications, as social distancing is maintained and there are a variety of choices.
Trying To help Small Businesses From Shutting Down
We all know the food industry is a huge global marketplace. The lockdown imposed was an unprecedented development. The fear of becoming infected is another issue that forced people to shut down their businesses. The GDP decline is evidence in lockdowns. But the only slogan to counter COVID-19 is “prevention is better than cure”. The advent of online mobile grocery delivery apps development services helped many local shops from shutting down permanently.
Online Grocery Delivery Apps Promotes Social Distancing
Social Distancing is the only way to beat the virus and now various online grocery delivery apps development companies are using this way to beat the economic slump they are facing. Ordering grocery items through an online delivery application is a very effective way to stay away from crowded areas. There is no doubt that some precautionary measures need to be taken while delivering the ordered groceries. Contactless delivery is a trend that the general public is more than happy to accept.
Helping the Work from Home people
In this current situation, companies have been ordered to shut down their workplaces. But people continue to work remotely from their homes. Not in just one country, entrepreneurs in every corner of the world are forcing employees to operate remotely.
Work-from-home is a new thing that has seen popularity during the outbreak of coronavirus. So, what about those who can’t go out or order food daily? Hence the creation of on-demand mobile grocery delivery apps meets the demands of customers and delivers the ration safely, taking every precaution.
Elderly People To Order Groceries
More than one in four people aged 65 years were living alone away from their children which forced them, in a good way, to take up the online thing sportingly. From explaining the online ordering system to providing a personalized grocery shelf to making it language-specific, on-demand grocery apps have improved the senior citizens’ experiences threshold.
Some elderly citizens may not know how to use online mobile grocery delivery apps; therefore, many online grocery delivery companies have deployed call centers for placing orders where they just have to dial the number and provide their address for grocery delivery.
Delivering Food As Well As Groceries
As new players join the bandwagon, companies like Zomato, Swiggy, Paytm Mall, Uber, and many more tie-ups with government authorities, grocery stores, retail chains, and FMCG companies to provide essentials to the users. They claim to collect directly from stores and to deliver groceries across more than 150 cities and 50 lakh households as of now.
For e.g., Swiggy has revamped its offering ‘Swiggy Go’ by launching a hyperlocal delivery service ‘Genie’ in over 15 cities. The switch is not just limited to Indian food tech giants, but even digital payments platform BharatPe and social e-commerce portal Meesho. Both have joined the grocery delivery space to increase the reach of retailers selling essential products and ensure a continuous supply chain.
Grocery Delivery Apps Helping Employees As Well
Online mobile grocery delivery apps have been helping their employees as well by providing all the necessary facilities and equipment needed for their safety. They are also providing for financial aid if their employees get infected by COVID-19 while discharging their duties.
Corporate Social Responsibility Activities
Grocery delivery app development companies have not forgotten the social responsibility and are constantly helping homeless people and migrants with necessary ration and food. Besides that, digital payment options are also a problem-solving tool that lets people stop the spread of the virus that has rendered food orders and payment one tap away with mobile food app development solutions.
Conclusion
As the coronavirus eventually peaks and hopefully wanes, brick and mortar grocery shops will pick up the pace, but some behavioral habits are expected to linger on. With the region’s as well as growing global digital comforts, ordering groceries online, similar to ordering dinner, is the new normal. The core idea of a grocery delivery app development company is to provide a solution that does not require people to leave their homes, in these testing times putting the health at risk, to avail the services.
The system gives them the facility to stay in the comfort and safety of their homes and avail everything that they need in just a few clicks.
Because you stay in and let the virus stay out!
