Business Strategy
Identity ways in which the business models of traditional grocers and Amazon are converging
Traditional grocers such as Wal-Mart and Kroger are venturing into online grocery business where Amazon has been operating. On its part, Amazon is planning to build brick-and-mortar convenience stores just like the traditional grocery businesses. All of them will be offering their customers fresh foods for sale with the option of purchasing shelf-stable goods for later delivery (Haddon and Nassauer, 1). The traditional grocers and Amazon are also planning to open sites that offer curbside pickup.
Curbside pick-up entails a shopper selecting the products they wish to buy online and then pick up the products at the curb in the parking lots of the stores from which they bought. Home delivery on the other hand means that the products are ordered online and the seller makes arrangements to deliver the products at the address indicted by the customer.
Describe the changing demographic factors affecting the grocery industry
The rise in the population of millenials who prefer to shop online through mobile gadgets and with increased convenience is pushing more grocery business online. The increment in the number of parents who seek the convenience of not taking children out of car seats and wander into cavernous stores also means more business for the online-related services such as curbside services (Haddon and Nassauer, 3). More people are increasingly getting busier at work and they are choosing to shop for grocery on the way from work and as such they prefer the convenience brought about by online grocery sales such as curbside services.
Review the opportunities for growth in the online grocery business
There is projected growth of the online grocery business due to the technological improvements and the warehouse investments which enable shoppers to select products more precisely such that the deliveries of produce fresher and better tailored (Haddon and Nassauer, 2).
There is an increasing number of young people who prefer to shop online and they have pushed projections for the growth of the online grocery industry to 34% in the next 5 years (Haddon and Nassauer, 2). In addition, the invention of curbside services also means more convenience for a greater number of customers and therefore more opportunities for those who want to venture into online grocery business.
Stores think shoppers might buy more in stores if there is curbside service. How would this work if shoppers are not going into stores
The shoppers can be driving to the stores as they make their purchases online such that as they get to the curbs in the parking lots of the grocery stores, they find their shopping readied for pick up. Since the grocery stores are working to increase the volume of products on the shelves rather than in the backroom they make it easy for employees to fulfill the orders and deliver to the shoppers at curbs with greater efficiency (Haddon and Nassauer, 3).
Discuss the challenges of the potential of expanding curbside service from the perspectives of shoppers and grocery stores
There is increasing competition as nearly all grocery business are choosing to sell online and this creates a challenge on the businesses s they have to keep innovating to overcome the competition. Some analysts claim that it is expensive to sell online and that it is just not enough to have a good application (Haddon and Nassauer, 4). The demand for excellent service at low costs by the customers is a challenge to the online grocers. The customers also face the challenge of not getting the exact quality of products delivered to them at the curb or at home because they do not get to pick up for themselves and put in the shopping basket the actual products they need. The customers have to rely on the trustworthiness of the sellers that they will get quality products delivered in a timely and professional manner. Grocery delivery is challenging because they must be kept cold and the delivery of large orders over tight schedules can be quite challenging.
Works cited
Haddon, Heather and Nassauer Sarah Wal-mart, Kroger strive to counter Amazon’s grocery challenge.
