COVID-19 Crisis And The Surge In The Usage Of On-Demand Grocery Delivery Apps

On-demand services apps have altered the service sectors to a significant extent. Back in the '80s, if you claimed that you could get all your services and products at home with ease, people would have thought it was a joke. Ever since the advent of taxi service apps, gradually, many businesses started to provide on-demand delivery services, and this has, in turn, received a good response from the customers. The global pandemic has spiked the usage of on-demand service apps, and app downloads and the number of users has reached around 35 billion in 2020. The rise of the on-demand economy is expected to reach $335 billion in 2025. Few popular on-demand services are on-demand taxi-hailing service, on-demand food delivery, on-demand grocery services, on-demand beauty services, on-demand laundry, on-demand rental services, on-demand ATM service, etc. These are the significant domains that contribute a considerable sum to the on-demand global service revenue.

Grocery delivery apps have seen a tremendous reach and usage among users. The analysts predict that the online grocery delivery services market will mark a CAGR of more than 22% by 2022.

In detail, let us discuss the surge in the usage and demand of the grocery delivery service apps in 2020.

Convenience and safety of the users

It is inconvenient to shop with the masks and gloves on. And the fear of contracting the virus all along is strenuous as well. It seems that the virus needn't kill us, but the stress of being cautious itself will do the job. Getting groceries delivered at home is convenient and also ensures safety. Users need not worry about waiting in the line for long hours since most of the shops only allow a limited number of customers at a time to ensure social distancing.

Business sustainability for the vendors

By integrating delivery services in the business model, many grocery vendors have sustained their business sales. In March and early April, many grocery businesses faced a massive blow of loss in the business with stricter impositions of the lockdown , not giving the customers the space to shop for groceries.

Slowly many learned to sustain their businesses by shifting their model of doing business.

These grocery delivery services have not only sustained sales but also helps in following all the safety standards while doing business than the traditional way of running a grocery delivery shop.

Grocery App Usage

The availability of the on-demand service apps is sustaining many businesses during this pandemic. About 22.4 million users are seeking an on-demand market annually in each industry. The percentage of people who purchased groceries online grew to about 55% in 2020 compared to 15% in 2015. Apps like Instacart, Walmart Grocery, and Shipt have witnessed a rise in the number of downloads by 218%, 160%, and 124%.

Hence grocery delivery apps are being widely used, and instacart is widely sought after.

Few notable statistics on instacart's excellence.

1. Instacart's value is $13.7 billion. It is available to about 40 million US households and has a greater reach globally.

2. The online grocery sales are projected to reach $ 118 billion by 2025, out of which Instacart's contribution will be about 19%.

3. Instacart is a widely large and notable domain in the food business and has almost 500,00 independent contractors working for it.

4. As of April 2020, Instacart hired 300,00 workers and is planning to hire 250,000 more. Thus providing job opportunities to many at this time.

5. The president of Instacart states that the Instacart app has reached a high point of sales in 2020 due to COVID-19, which would have taken five years to reach in regular times.

6. The Instacart in-store shoppers who get the packages ready for pick up earn an average of $10-$15/hour.

Instacart clone model

With grocery businesses willing to establish themselves online, instacart clone apps are sought after by entrepreneurs worldwide.

How does the Instacart clone app work

1.Customers can sign in and create a profile quickly.

2.The need to update their details like their address and contact information on their profile.

3.Customers have various storage options to choose from. Different stores from each locality are saved in the app.

4.Customers can browse through the list of available items and also search for any specific product.

5. They can add the items they want to the shopping cart.

6. After adding all the necessary products to the cart, the customers can check out and pay by using the in-app wallet system.

7.After the payment is verified, the order is notified to the grocery store.

8.The grocery store packs up all the products and sets them up for the delivery executive to pick up.

9.All the items are packed together and kept ready for the delivery executive to pick-up.

10.The delivery executive picks up the order and delivers it off to the customer's place.

11. After which the user can rate the grocery delivery services availed.

Safety Precautions ensured due to the COVID-19 crisis

Contactless delivery is ensured where the delivery executive drops off the package at the customer's doorstep.

The employees are requested to wear a mask and gloves when handling food products and packing them. The employees need to upload a picture of the same, which will be verified by the admin.

The store owners and employees are given incentives to earn safety badges from the customers for following strict precautionary measures.

All the store staffs, and the delivery executives should undergo daily temperature checks.

The cash On Delivery (COD) option is disabled for the time being as the COVID-19 virus can be easily spread through handling currency notes.

Limitations which you can address in your instacart clone app

1.Ease of using the app

A survey conducted in March 2020 stated that only 9% of US adults can digitally order groceries during the pandemic. One in three customers has delayed in delivering the grocery orders or were unable to place an order. Design the app in such a way that the UI is simple and user friendly. People from all age groups should be able to access it and place grocery orders. Ensure that your delivery services are on time

2.Tip takeback

Instacart employees stated that few customers did take back the tip that they paid for the delivery executives. This puts the delivery executives at a loss. Enable a sound tipping system and encourage your users to tip the delivery executives appropriately. After all, the delivery executives are putting themselves at risk in this pandemic time to cater high-quality services.

3. Covid-19 safety

Ensure the safety of the delivery executives by providing them with a sanitization kit and. After the great chaos of the workforce strike, the Introduction of sick pay for the in-store keepers, and extension of payment for the full time and part-time employees affected by the COVID-19 employees was implemented by Instacart. Integrate the same into your system as per your business to sustain employees' trust.

Summing up

The grocery delivery apps have helped a great deal in catering on-time and nutritious food to many in this crisis. Running your Business using an Instacart clone and following all the safety standards to ensure the delivery of hygienic products will take your grocery business to good heights