

Ask HN: Is the market ready for online grocery shopping? - ronnwer

I noticed that I can get almost anything on the Internet. But there is no major online grocery store. Sure there are a few here and there. What do you think are the challenges in this market?
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bdfh42
In the UK the largest supermarket chain operates the largest online
ordering/home delivery service. It has several rivals. The wide distribution
of stores (able to supply the delivery component of the service) and the
(relatively) low distances between store and customer's homes makes this a
viable business opportunity.

assuming the question comes from the US - perhaps similar conditions apply in
larger urban conurbations - but a national service might prove tricky.

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timthorn
Tesco (the supermarket in question) has some nice features. The online
ordering site is linked to your loyalty card profile, and recent purchases
either in store or online are made more prominent. Sainsbury's (also a large
chain) may do the same with their loyalty programme, but I don't have
experience.

Ocado is also worth looking at. Set up by 3 investment bankers, it sources its
produce from one of the smaller, premium supermarkets (Waitrose) but has a
(rather funky) purpose built distribution centre from which deliveries are
made - rather than having a fleet of picker/drivers at retail stores across
the country. Of course, this also limits their geographic coverage somewhat.

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ronnwer
Thanks. What exactly is the loyalty card profile and how does it work?

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barrydahlberg
When I was flatting in Australia a few years ago we used to buy groceries
online as we had no car or nearby supermarket.

The biggest problem I've seen is that people don't trust someone else to shop
for fresh things for them. Vegetables, fruit and especially meat have this
problem. Tins and boxes of dry food are easier to trust.

