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Want to scale your business? Look no beyond a futuristic and meticulous hyperlocal ecommerce delivery software

Hyperlocal ecommerce delivery software and apps have been playing an instrumental role in helping businesses scale up in quick time.

By Dr. Shamael Zaheer KhanPublished about a year ago 9 min read
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A futuristic hyperlocal ecommerce delivery software can help scale in no time and take you places

“Of all the needs of a business existing in today’s times, one of the pressing ones is to scale up and grow big. Well! That can be fulfilled easily.”

Businesses, by and large, ever since the coming into being of trade and commerce have been passionate about their journey and goals they ought to achieve. There have been umpteen cases of small businesses making it big into the world of commerce. Then came ecommerce, and the story stood no different. Ecommerce industry too paved way for business to go online and make hay while the sun shines. To this effect, several businesses saw the dawn of the day and rose to respectable and competitive positions in their respective industries.

Today, as ecommerce turns hyperlocal, there are increased hopes from the model. Businesses around the world have been relying and putting a lot of trust in the benefits arising out of the hyperlocal ecommerce model. And rightly so! Besides the plethora of benefits that come along with hyperlocal ecommerce, one of the most overriding ones is that businesses can scale themselves up in no time and with minimal effort. Before we discuss this, let us have a discourse on hyperlocal ecommerce and its source of speed and efficiency- the hyperlocal ecommerce delivery software.

A brief discourse on hyperlocal ecommerce

The coming into being of hyperlocal ecommerce has served as a big boon for businesses. Not just the ailing and less profited ones, but the flourishing and well-established ones too have made hyperlocal ecommerce model a part of their business process. So, what makes this model so interesting and worth pursuing?

The entire model is pretty efficient and quick as it finds both the parties involved in ecommerce close to each other- the buyers and the sellers. The moment a buyer orders something through the app or website, the hyperlocal business, in pursuance of the model, relays the duty to the closest delivery agent to make the delivery quickly and conveniently to the customers’ doorsteps.

Hyperlocal model brings with itself great ease in logistics and supply and smoothens the entire distribution system. It frees the business of any procedural bottlenecks than can otherwise occur during the normal course of distribution. This amounts to efficiency in the entire sequence of hyperlocal events and businesses can make the most of it.

Mightily influenced by the efficacy of a hyperlocal model, more and more hyperlocal marketplaces have come up lately. Local offline retailers, aspiring entrepreneurs and a variety of service providers have got a new lease of life for their business ever since the advent and rise of hyperlocal platforms. Though the concept is still in its infancy but thanks to the massive internet penetration the world is not new to it anymore. It holds the capacity to exalt the business of offline sellers to entirely new levels.

The hyperlocal space- Catching the keen eye of stakeholders

Hyperlocal ecommerce has been going steadily well. Be it the food industry, grocery, baked products, pharmaceuticals or any other home essential service, they have been able to cater well to the rising expectations of the customer. A major portion of this steady growth in this hyperlocal space can be attributed to the consumer's behavior which has seen a phenomenal shift due to the sudden outbreak of the pandemic so much so that now they rather prefer to have everything at ease and within neighborhood without venturing out much.

Not only is that but the investor appetite for this segment is also far from replete, with $533 million invested till November 2020. While in 2018, the sector saw $1.7 billion in investment, according to Tracxn data.

Hyperlocal businesses, by virtue of being in close proximity of the buyer and the seller, have been successfully making a steady progress all this while. Big names like Swiggy, Zomato, Dunzo, UrbanClap and Blinkit have become the household names and consumers of today cannot fathom living in a world without them. Can you even think of doing that? Of course, you cannot, for some obvious reasons.

So, knowing that hyperlocal ecommerce has become the order of the day and there is no evasion to it, it is better for businesses to partner with some efficient, meticulous and futuristic hyperlocal ecommerce delivery software providing companies and also to learn the best practices for building an extensive hyperlocal delivery network. This can further help them in scaling their business in quick time.

Let us have a look.

How to go about building an extensive hyperlocal delivery model?

Given below are some important points that a business must take care of while planning its hyperlocal journey.

1. Knowing your wares like the back of your hand- It is the most fundamental thing to take care of. Businesses wanting to go hyperlocal must know about what are they wanting to sell, how are they going to do it, its procurement, pricing and everything that just concerns the ware. Some of the following products and services can be a good and profitable option for businesses to explore and deal with- household services, repairs and cleaning, spa and salon services, pharmaceutical products, food, and, most popularly, groceries.

2. Identifying the target market correctly- Knowing the wares, and remaining oblivious of the target market that one wants to serve can be detrimental for any business. Unless you select a target market- viz a viz location, number of miles served, population, demographics of people living there, lifestyle, habits, their buying patterns, purchasing power, etc., you have set yourself up for failure. Unless you get those points right, you won’t have a target group to sell to, inventory to sell, or local stores to partner with! So, deciding upon the target market is yet another milestone that you need to cover in order for your business to get recognized and scale in due time.

3. Recognizing the local vendors and delivery partners- By extension of the point above, the target market you select must include a complete assessment of both demand and supply-side. Let’s say, you may find a locality that has enough demand but a poor network of local vendors to fulfill those orders—that would mean servicing those orders from greater distances, resulting in increased delivery times, thereby nullifying one of the very core benefits of hyperlocal delivery. Instead, after having figured out what you need to deliver and who all will be your target market, the next job at hand is to figure out the probability of partnership with local vendors (in case of marketplace owners) and delivery companies that can take your business ahead.

4. Picking on the delivery methods judiciously- Delivery has been one of the most significant aspects of a hyperlocal ecommerce model. This must be chosen carefully. Using local transport and vehicle companies to fulfill local orders is an efficient and cost-effective option. This means you use local delivery services, drivers, and warehouses. Not only are they well informed about the area, but this also brings down delivery costs to tremendous levels. Additionally, it is highly likely that such a local network already has sufficient knowledge of customers in the nearby area and hence it can be used to service them better and build lasting relationships for you.

5. Offering various modes of secure payment- When it comes to making online payments, consumers still have their set of insecurities intact. Businesses in such cases are recommended to offer the customers options of making payments the way they like. Partnering with some banks that guarantee safe, secure and reliable transactions can be a big ‘yes’ for businesses. The more secure and transparent a transaction is, the likelihood of consumers getting drawn to the business increases exponentially. This again can serve as a factor for businesses to take control of, utilize it as a USP and scale themselves up. Remember, on the contrary, that failure to provide ample payment options typically causes a high rate of cart abandonment.

6. Aesthetic and easy to use website and app design- Modern day customers require modern day solutions. Your customer will be ordering online via hyperlocal ecommerce delivery software and app. Make sure the UI and UX are well designed, uncomplicated, aesthetically pleasing and efficient. If a customer has to struggle through the ordering process, you are taking away an important benefit of the hyperlocal model, i.e., convenience and speed!

7. Creating a buzz for your business- Consumers, these days, are naturally drawn towards businesses that are discussed by people around them, both physically or on social media. You can do so by creating a buzz for your business, the products and services it offers, the unique selling proposition in the market, your competitive standing with respect to others, and so on. Get people talking about your business, and there you are, galloping and ascending.

8. Planning ahead of time- Businesses which go hyperlocal and plan to scale up quickly should naturally become futuristic in approach. Futuristic and far sighted businesses have it in them to see and anticipate things beforehand and plan ahead for such circumstances well in advance. This leads them to position themselves strategically better for future in a marketplace where other players are still dwelling in the present.

9. Continuous monitoring of your analytics- This is an important weapon to keep track of your activities. This prevents businesses from deviating from what they intended and keeps them streamlined in their approach. Certain hyperlocal ecommerce delivery software companies can help businesses keep track of the activities happening on the website by providing them strong and comprehensive analytics, tools to monitor the data, detailed reports of placed consumer orders, etc.

10. Investment in technology- This is never a bad deal. Hyperlocal businesses, wishful of scaling, must invest in technology. The more the investment in state of the art technology, the more automated and mechanized would be their business processes. This would help them have a better grasp of their customers who are techno-savvy (which in today’s times are in majority) and would also keep them ahead of their rival businesses in terms of adapting to the incumbent and impending technology.

Wrapping up

In today’s hyperlocal world of infinite possibilities, businesses are highly desirous of achieving the highest possible position they can, in their attempt to proliferate vigorously and grow abundantly. The hyperlocal industry, characterized by rapid technological growth and quick changes in consumer behavior, demand from businesses, a continuous involvement and commitment into technology, automation, drone deliveries, use of robotics, artificial intelligence, blockchain technology and everything else that is just a brainchild of technology.

Scaling up certainly requires strategic planning on the part of prudent businesses but the experience, know-how, the innate desire, and resources to do so also serve as important aspects. The question therefore is- whether your business has the avidity, agility and paraphernalia to adopt the technological changes no sooner they arrive? Or is it just an effort-devoid, lackluster and a mere wishful thinking of scaling the business?

Falling in the latter category, is going to stagnate your business to maturity and then to decline pretty soon from the position you are in right now; and falling in the former category will surely make you come up like a leader and scale up like it was foreordained for you.

techopinionfuturefoodartificial intelligenceapparel
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About the Creator

Dr. Shamael Zaheer Khan

Dr. S.Z. Khan is a revered academic. He brings a unique blend of theory and practice to his position as Vice President (Marketing & Strategy) at a leading SaaS firm. He is also an expert contributor to several platforms of repute.

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