November 15, 2021

Turning Unpredictable Into Opportunity

Don’t let the threat of a resurgence limit your revenue options

Reflecting upon the events of last year, one can remember the lock downs, lengthy outdoor grocery store lines, and scrambles to provide either online grocery or sufficient order slots. A return to that nightmare is the last thing most retailers want to deal with.

Though cases of the Covid-19 Delta Variant are on the rise, at this point the US government doesn't anticipate severe pandemic responses. However, with so much uncertainty surrounding these spikes, bolstering your online grocery services is possibly the single-most important step you can take. Fortunately, preparing for the outcomes of another pandemic is simple, will make future circumstances less stressful, and may give you a leg up against competition.

Expect a Rise in Online Orders

As of this week, US cases of the Delta Variant have risen to as much as half the all-time high observed last January and fears are evident as many people are opting to wear protective face coverings in mask-optional settings.

Whether or not things begin to shut down again, fears of contracting the Delta Variant may drive shoppers to drop their in-store shopping routines in exchange for shopping on your ShopHero online grocery platform.

The Benefits to Being Prepared

Ensuring that your store is prepared for a possible increase in orders, or even sudden surges of orders, will have many advantages such as capturing increased business and maintaining a reliable reputation.

For example, Frank’s Market, a popular grocer located in the heart of Washington Heights, NY experienced a much bigger boost to their business than they expected, even with the pandemic effect. Frank’s began their online grocery journey with ShopHero one year before the start of the pandemic. During the year, they established a healthy system for order fulfillment and widespread public awareness of their online services. When the pandemic resulted in their online orders skyrocketing from 15 to 300 daily orders, they were prepared to manage the dramatic increase and maintain their reputation of reliability throughout the community. Down the street, their two top competitors rushed to implement their own online grocery platform from scratch and ultimately failed.

When asked how they managed to keep up with so many orders, Frank’s Market partner Bill Rodriguez mentioned the importance of easily and quickly training employees to fulfill online orders.

“ShopHero is an easy format to train for employees. It’s basically a cell phone with an app. They download it, go to the order, and it tells them when to start picking it, what aisle to look at, shows pictures of the product - it’s super. Anyone can use it. We’ve had new employees start with us and in 20 minutes they were using it with very little training.”

Ways To Prepare:

  • Begin increasing order slots
  • Have all employees download the fulfillment app
  • Ensure your client base knows you offer online grocery services
  • Make sure your store is “top of mind” as an online grocery option by increasing marketing to your customer base.
  • Don’t wait to onboard sister stores with ShopHero’s online grocery platform
  • Resolve any holds on launching or making public your online platform

Again, making the changes necessary to handle a surplus of online orders will help your store immensely. It will help you maintain a reputation of being well established, enable you to capture increased business -- even stand up against competition.

Please contact store.support@shophero.com for questions or assistance in implementing these methods of building your online grocery service.

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