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The idea of holding the grocery store in your palm would have sounded insane decades back. But today, you instantly know we are talking about mobile grocery shopping apps!
The Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated the shift towards a digitalized world, diminishing physical interaction to a great extent. If you are craving for your favorite sushi, ran out of chocolate while baking cupcakes or your wardrobe seems to be lacking fall essentials, no need to rush to the store anymore!
Just like all the retail stores, restaurants, educational institutions, and so forth, grocery stores have also quickly realized how to cash in on this era of digitalization. The pandemic has changed the face of grocery shopping as you do not have to dread a trip to the store, spend endless hours in mazes of aisles with hundreds of products sitting on the shelves to choose from, waiting in long lines at the checkout counter, and driving back home exhausted.
Online Grocery Shopping is the New Normal!
Online grocery shopping is on the rise, and more people are using their smartphones to purchase groceries every day. This trend has been accelerated by the pandemic, but seemingly, people are not going to give up on using mobile grocery applications even post-pandemic. According to the Coresight Research report, 63% of online shoppers plan to continue shopping online post-pandemic as frequently as they do now or even more.
For opportunist grocery store owners, this pandemic has surely brought about a revolutionary business opportunity. In light of the shift from in-store to online grocery shopping, numerous brick-and-mortar grocery stores are launching and revamping their mobile grocery applications to deliver your groceries at your doorstep with just a few clicks on your smartphones. These applications also enhance the in-store shopping experience through swift and contactless shopping and checkouts.
Contemporary Mobile Innovations in the Food Retail Space
Keeping in view the constantly escalating hype of mobile grocery applications, various big brands have already incorporated mobile technology to revolutionize and innovate the pre-existing ways of getting your groceries. Some of them are listed below.
Kroger
If you’re seeking convenience, quality products, and reasonable prices, Kroger would be your go-to store. It is the second-largest general retailer in the United States with 2778 stores. Kroger’s mobile application turns online as well as in-store shopping into a convenient and hassle-free task by allowing you to;
Instacart
If you ever feel the urge to relax at home or if you get so caught up with work/chores, secretly wishing you had someone else do grocery shopping for you, Instacart got your back! Instacart does exactly what we just mentioned – it shops your groceries and fresh foods for you from any store in your vicinity and delivers them to your doorstep!
Personal shoppers from Instacart will pick up your required items from the local stores (even from multiple stores at the same time) like Costco, Kroger, etc. Some outlets will even let you order from various pharmacies, pet stores, and liquor stores. Moreover, you can always mention substitute items in case your desired products are unavailable.
You can also chat with your shopper and select substitute items for unavailable products. Additionally, this app also allows you to track the live location of your shopper on GPS.
Moreover, if you prefer curbside pickup, place your online order through the mobile application, drive to the store, and park in the designated area where the store associate will carry your order to your car.
All you have to do is download the Instacart mobile app, enter your zip code and choose your favorite local store from over 20,000 retail stores in North America!
Amazon Go’s Cashierless Tech Making Its Way to Whole Foods Stores
Earlier this year, Amazon, the world’s largest online retailer, successfully launched Amazon Fresh stores, powered by its ‘Just Walk Out’ technology. This lets the customers step into the store, shop for the required grocery items, and walk out of the store, skipping the long checkout lines.
All you need is an Amazon account and a smartphone with the free application installed in it. Anything that you get off the shelf is added automatically to your virtual shopping cart. No need to worry about the billing process as the app is linked to your Amazon account for billing.
According to the latest news, Amazon plans to bring its cashierless ‘Just Walk Out’ tech to Whole Foods stores in Washington DC, Sherman Oaks, and California (in the coming year).
Considering the increased push for pickup and delivery amidst the pandemic, grocery chains are actively building or updating mobile applications to add to the customer convenience and cope with the needs of current times.
According to Statista, DoorDash was the most downloaded mobile app for grocery shopping and delivery in the US in 2020 with 39 million downloads. This helps us make a promising forecast that there is going to be a significant swell in the e-Grocery market in the US alone.
Time to Give Your Grocery Store App a Makeover!
As this booming industry is picking up pace with creative and innovative advancements happening in the food retail space, a greater chunk of revenue will be bagged by the participants that are quick to announce their business.
To respond correctly to the shifting trends, it is high time to seriously consider getting a superstar app built for your grocery store or getting the existing one a good makeover. This will allow you to;
Want to create or upgrade your mobile app to transform the customers’ shopping experience and drastically improve profitability? Connect with our skilled team now!
CitrusBits, an award-winning california mobile app developer that has been delivering impressive services to numerous businesses like Burger King and Urban Plates, is also building a mobile application for Alaska Commercial, a retail company providing groceries and general merchandise throughout Alaska.
This app is being skillfully designed and built to function with even low bandwidth support, enables to create account as well as guest login option, offers bush delivery (from one zip code to another), and allows using virtual wallets.
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