Top 10 Online Grocery Delivery Challenges & Ways to Overcome Them

When was the last time you strolled through the aisles of a grocery store or visited a local farm for fresh produce? It seems like a distant memory, doesn’t it?

Well, you’re not alone in this paradigm shift. The recent surge in online grocery shopping has reshaped our consumer habits, and for good reason.

The allure lies in the convenience and speed it offers, making it an attractive choice for many. Did you know that the online grocery delivery services market is projected to exceed a staggering $1,670.3 billion by 2030?

However, the rapid adoption of online grocery shopping has brought its fair share of challenges, leaving retailers and consumers alike in a quest for solutions. From intricate inventory management and market saturation to streamlining delivery processes and reining in operational costs, the road to seamless online grocery delivery is paved with obstacles.

This blog explores all the challenges and the proven practices to surmount them. It also explains the importance of streamlining last-mile grocery delivery operations.

Understanding the Factors Fueling the Surge of Online Grocery Delivery Businesses

One of the reasons behind an uptick in online grocery businesses is the ever-lasting change in consumers’ behavior after COVID-19. People now prefer convenience, safety, and speed, and an eGrocery store provides it all.

Another factor is the wide range of items to choose from. Whether it’s fresh produce, specialty items, or snacks & beverages, customers can buy it all right from the convenience of their homes. Last but not least, increased smartphone penetration, tech-savvy millennials, and competitive pricing have propelled the growth of this online grocery industry even further.

The next section elucidates the most common challenges that online grocery retail presents.

10 Online Grocery Delivery Challenges

It’s undeniably true that the popularity of online grocery delivery is far from fading any time soon. However, it poses its own set of struggles that e-grocery retailers must address to stay afloat.

1. Inventory management

Inventories in an online grocery business are often volatile, making substitutions of out-of-stock items unavoidable. If customers go through the online checkout process only to find their selected products out of stock or substitutions being offered, it may put them off. 

They may go a step further to post a negative review about your online grocery store. Furthermore, they may choose not to repurchase from your store and turn to your competitors, leading to a loss of reputation and business. 

2. High competition 

With numerous players already vying for the online grocery market share, competition is going through the roof. As the market becomes saturated, new entrants find it daunting to establish themselves while existing brands grapple with standing out.

Price is another significant factor that aggravates this situation. While big players may leverage heavy discounts and offers to lure customers, small businesses or startups may find it no easy feat. It is because they may face shrinking profit margins, making their survival hard.

3. Delivery inefficiency

Navigating through traffic, especially during peak hours, can impact your delivery schedule. Further, executing the last-mile delivery of grocery orders to customers’ addresses successfully may be complex.

It can be due to the inability to determine efficient delivery routes, resulting in excess time/fuel consumption. Moreover, handling demand during peak seasons, holidays, or promotional events may become arduous. This is because it may need additional staff, delivery fleet, and inventory to manage heightened order volumes.

4. Regulatory compliance

Navigating and complying with varying regional and national standards regarding freshness, appearance, and nutritional content may be challenging. Another critical aspect is maintaining up-to-date allergen information and nutritional facts for an extensive and dynamic product catalog.

Online grocery businesses also struggle with adhering to fair competition tactics and truthful advertising necessary for a positive public image. Securing online transactions while complying with payment industry standards and protecting customers’ sensitive data can also be cumbersome.

5. Escalated infrastructure costs

24% of online grocery shoppers prefer quality against the 18% focused on prices.

This stat is testimony to the need for temperature-controlled environments to achieve optimal quality standards for perishable products. It mandates an investment in building micro-fulfillment centers for proximity to customers while maintaining products’ freshness. Even if online grocery stores store, pack, and stage products in existing warehouses, they may require infrastructural arrangements to keep products fresh.

Additionally, equipping online grocery delivery fleets with insulated bags, coolers, and smart boxes to preserve products until delivery requires capital investment. All these aspects lead to soaring infrastructural expenses, which startups may find hard to handle. 

6. Non-tech savvy customers

Technologically challenged customers, often old-aged ones, may find shifting from traditional brick-and-mortar shops to online stores overwhelming. They may find it hard to familiarize themselves with smartphones or computers for online grocery shopping. 

These customers may also be hesitant about online transactions due to payment security concerns, dissuading them from making purchases. They may also fail to leverage digital communication channels and stay abreast of important messages regarding order confirmation or delivery notifications.  

7. Penetration into small towns

Residents of small towns may prefer traditional shopping methods, such as visiting local markets or a brick-and-mortar store in their area. So, convincing them to adopt online buying may take time and effort, which may not be feasible for every business.

Moreover, residents may not be as digitally literate as urban populations, making it tough for them to get accustomed to online shopping. Another facet is sparse population density with fewer potential online customers, rendering it infeasible to scale your business and boost cost efficiency. 

8. User interface (UI) / user experience (UX) issues

A user-friendly interface is indispensable for a seamless online grocery shopping experience and elevated customer satisfaction levels. However, issues like complex navigation, unclear product categorization, or a cumbersome checkout process can decrease session times and increase abandoned carts. 

Further, if your site is not mobile-responsive, it may disengage your users. Problems such as difficulty managing account information, slow load time, and the absence of real-time order tracking or personalized recommendations may also hamper your customer experience.  

9. Increased operational costs

A business’s operational costs may vary on what it offers. It can comprise hosting prices, domain fees, marketing/advertising costs, app maintenance costs, and licensing value. 

Besides, delivery fleet maintenance, drivers’ payments, quality control, and customer service incur substantial expenses. Balancing competitive pricing while covering all these costs remains a constant struggle, impacting your online grocery delivery service’s overall profitability and sustainability. 

10. Ever-evolving online grocery market trends

Today’s online grocery industry is witnessing a rising demand for sustainable and locally sourced products. It requires constant and real-time adjustments in the inventory coupled with supply chain best practices. Besides, integrating futuristic technologies like automated warehouses and delivery drones requires significant investments, making it economically infeasible for small-sized online grocery retailers. 

Furthermore, fierce competition among new entrants and established players needs ongoing innovation to sustain in the face of ever-changing customer expectations. It necessitates sophisticated data analytics and integration of online platforms and mobile apps, adding complexity to daily operations.

8 Effective Practices to Overcome Online Grocery Delivery Challenges

Regardless of the challenges you face as an e-grocery retailer, you can consider following a few good tips to combat them.

1. Consider dynamic pricing 

Leveraging dynamic pricing strategies can help encourage your customers to make purchases during off-peak hours. It can help manage your peak demand hours efficiently while optimizing delivery resources and saving time. 

For instance, leading brands, including Hershey, Kellogg, and Coca-Cola, rely on Eversight by Instacart to optimize pricing in response to market conditions. This Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) platform offers dynamic pricing to manage prices along with scenario planning to simulate and implement what fits the most.

2. Opt for smart inventory management

Real-time tracking of grocery item stocks is pivotal. Adopting a smart inventory management system can help get accurate and up-to-date information on product availability, reducing the risk of stock-outs. 

You can also configure smart inventory systems to reorder grocery items when stock levels touch a predefined threshold. It can help minimize manual intervention and automate procurement operations.

3. Keep transparent substitution policies

Real-time communication to inform customers about substitution policies and enable them to pre-approve alternatives is crucial. For instance, Walmart sends customers a temporary authorization hold email offering a similar item as a substitution in case the ordered product is out-of-stock. The customer can either accept or refuse the substitution. 

Based on the customer’s response, it substitutes an ordered item or removes it from the cart. This proactive and transparent approach provides greater control over orders, enhancing customer satisfaction levels. 

4. Invest in IoT-enabled quality control

Monitoring appropriate temperature/humidity conditions while storing and transporting perishable items is integral to superior quality control. Therefore, you should consider investing in IoT sensors for this purpose.

For example, Walmart Global Tech developed an IoT application to monitor and maintain optimal temperature ranges of refrigeration units, ensuring food safety standards. This proactive quality control helps deliver fresh products, boosting customers’ loyalty and online grocery sales.

5. Adopt route optimization 

Determining the shortest and most cost-efficient routes for grocery deliveries is indispensable. Therefore, deploying route optimization software like Upper, which relies on advanced algorithms, is crucial for your online grocery business. 

Let’s consider Wishlist.Delivery, for example. It is a food delivery business based in California. It integrated Upper’s route optimization software that offered the ability to add 250+ stops and create optimized routes effortlessly. It helped the company reduce the time spent on route planning by 83% and achieve timely deliveries.

6. Prioritize constant customer communication

Customers prioritize clear communication when it comes to deliveries. Therefore, you should provide timely SMS or email notifications with accurate last-mile carrier tracking details. This level of transparency helps keep them informed and enhances customer satisfaction levels. 

For instance, Northern Clearways is a premier landscaping and snow removal service provider based in Duluth, Minnesota. It implemented Upper’s real-time updates and client notifications to provide dynamic Estimated Times of Arrival with tracking information. It helped engage clients while cutting down communication gaps by 90%, boosting trust and transparency. It also contributed to eliminating the need for frequent call-ups before visits. They further found this software useful in managing contacts, tracking drivers, and adjusting routes in real time using this software.

7. Create user-friendly platforms

A user-friendly platform is vital for a seamless online grocery shopping experience. It should be intuitive, with easy navigation and well-organized sections. Your site should be responsive to ensure it is accessible and functional across all devices, including mobile, laptop, or desktop.

Moreover, your checkout process must be straightforward and require minimal steps. 

Usability testing can help observe how real users interact with your online grocery store, identify issues like confusing navigation or unclear instructions, and address them beforehand. This iterative process ensures continuous improvement in your platform’s usability.

8. Secure your customers’ online transactions 

Integration with secure and reputable payment gateways is the first step to safeguarding online transactions. You should employ encryption technologies and comply with industry standards to protect users’ financial information. 

Deploying tokenization to replace sensitive details with a unique identifier token can also minimize the risk of unauthorized access to customer data. Exploring the feasibility of using facial recognition or biometric authentication to enhance transaction security and convenience is also a good idea.

5 Popular Online Grocery Business Models

Selecting a suitable business model is integral to the success of an online grocery delivery business. 

Here are the different grocery retail models you can choose from based on your unique needs.

1. Inventory-based  

Mostly suitable for large-scale enterprises that want direct control over product procurement, selection, quality, and fulfillment operations.

In this model, the online grocery delivery business owns and manages its inventory. The business owner is single-handedly responsible for procurement, storage, and last-mile delivery for online grocery orders. It enables greater control over product quality, pricing, and availability.

2. Aggregator/marketplace

Usually ideal for startups or businesses without their own inventory, providing a platform for various local vendors.

Aggregator online grocery delivery platforms collaborate with multiple local grocery stores to create a unified online marketplace. Customers can browse, select, and purchase products from different listed stores. The role of the aggregator is to look after the delivery processes for online grocery orders.

3. Hyperlocal market

Typically fits businesses that operate within confined geographic areas to engage customers with swift and personalized delivery experiences.

A hyperlocal online grocery retailer serves a specific geographic area or community. This business model generally partners with local grocery stores to provide fast and on-demand delivery of desired groceries to customers within a range.

4. Subscription-based

Works usually for businesses aiming to build customer loyalty and offer ease of shopping to consumers who seek routine deliveries.

This business model offers subscription plans to customers for regular deliveries of essential grocery items. It delivers a predefined set of products at regular intervals to provide convenience and continuity, enhancing the customer experience.

5. Buy Online Pick-up In-Store (BOPIS)

The global BOPIS market is projected to surpass $666.2 billion by 2028. 

The growing popularity of this model can be attributed to the fact that it combines the best of both an offline and online purchase experience. It enables customers to make purchases online and collect the order later from physical stores at their convenience. This omnichannel business model helps minimize or eliminate the time a customer has to spend in-store.

The Crucial Role of Optimizing Last-Mile Delivery in Online Grocery Businesses

Last-mile delivery is the final link of the supply chain that involves delivering perishable grocery items to customers on time. Therefore, making it efficient is paramount to create a positive customer experience, foster loyalty, and pave the way for repeat business. 

Technologies like GPS tracking, non-motored transportation, and route planning and optimization software can help overcome traffic congestion, sustainability concerns, and delivery delays. Innovative delivery models like shared or on-demand services and last-mile fulfillment centers in urban areas can contribute to cost optimization

Additionally, offering flexibility in delivery operations, clear communication with customers, and real-time updates on delivery statuses are also crucial to meeting customer expectations. All in all, a well-orchestrated last-mile delivery system can help you offer superior services and gain a competitive edge in the ever-evolving eCommerce landscape.

In the next section, we will delve into how advanced technology solutions like route optimization software and other solutions play a pivotal role in optimizing last-mile delivery operations.

Leveraging Advanced Technology for Optimal Last-Mile Delivery Operations

Advanced technology solutions like route planning, grocery management, and inventory management are considered a specialized digital platform that helps manage online grocery shopping, delivery operations, on-time delivery, and route planning & scheduling. 

Following are the five benefits these advanced software solutions provide.  

• Enables determining the most optimal routes for grocery delivery drivers, reducing fuel, time, and wear/tear costs and increasing profitability.

• Helps you live-track deliveries, keep clients updated on their order progress, and address issues proactively to prevent delays.

• Allows for managing customer information, such as delivery addresses, payment options, and order histories, to personalize services and strengthen your bonding with customers. 

• Provides valuable insights into last-mile delivery metrics, including delivery times, drivers’ performance, and missed/delivered stops in a specific period, enabling informed decision-making. 

• Lets you track and control stock levels, facilitating robust inventory management and avoiding situations like frequent stockouts. 

Online Grocery Delivery is the Way Forward

The online grocery market is set to grow by leaps and bounds in the future. So, the need of the hour is to make a decisive shift from a brick-and-mortar retail store to an online grocery delivery platform. 

However, it is natural for this switch to bring along the unique challenges we covered above. The key to smooth transition and sustenance lies in your adaptability and commitment to overcoming them. 

Embracing technological advancements, prioritizing customer communication, and adopting user-friendly platforms can forge a path toward your continued growth in this hyper-competitive eCommerce landscape.