- Benefits of Online Grocery App Development during Coronavirus (Covid-19) Pandemic

Lori Caricofe
5 min readMay 27, 2020

The lockdown has transformed the online marketplace completely. Now, people have shut their shops and offices, and are working from their homes. In the COVID-19 pandemic situation, the increase in the sudden order has been encountered by the on-demand sector. If we talk about countries like the UK and the US where governments keep extending the lockdown period, again and again, people are undergoing the biggest difficulty in systematising proper food supplies for themselves and their families. Therefore the enormous appreciation for grocery pickup services, delivery services and grocery mobile application development is because of this challenge that people are facing right now.

Have a look at the growth of grocery delivery mobile app download due to coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in the US as of March 2020 according to Statista:

In this articles, you’ll get complete insights regarding how the demand of grocery mobile application development companies will increase in the pandemic situation of Corona Virus and also how to cater to this rising demands and what measures businesses all across the globe can take to plan a proper mobile app solution.

How Online Grocery Application Has Become A Responsive Measure for COVID-19 Pandemic?

Online Grocery Mobile Applications have been ministering comfort to all the consumers consistently, even in the tenure of lockdown employees of on-demand grocery applications are serving their precious consumers effortlessly. During the COVID-19 lockdown where people are compelled to sit in their home to protect them and their family, the on-demand grocery application will make the deliveries at the doorstep to ensure the house is stocked with the essentials.

Understanding Panic Buying and Coronavirus

When news of COVID-19 spread and WHO officially declared a pandemic, people responded with stocking their essentials. Buy medical supplies such as masks, disinfectant, and household essentials such as toilet paper and bread. Soon, physical and online stores were struggling to keep up with the rising demand, and prices for supplies increased.

People respond to crises in various ways. When we encounter a risky and uncertain situation that we do not control, we tend to do our best to feel that we have some control.

“The panic buying can easily be understood as one of our 3 most important psychological needs,” according to Paul Marsden, a consumer psychologist at the University of the Arts in London. These needs are independence (or the need to feel in control of their actions), the relationship (the need to think that we are doing something to benefit our families) and competition (the need to feel that they are smart buyers who make the decision. Yell).

These psychological factors are the same reasons why “retail therapy” is a response to different types of personal crises. However, during the epidemic, layers are added.

The global spread of COVID-19 pandemic has been accompanied by a lot of uncertainties and sometimes conflicting information. When people listen to different tips from multiple sources, they have a higher instinct to prepare excessively, and not inadequately.

Second, there is the crowd mentality. Seeing other people buying shelves and then seeing a shortage of required products proves the storage decision. Here no one like to be left behind without any recourse.

Challenges Faced by the Online Grocery Applications During the Pandemic Period 1. Change in the business model

The main challenge facing the grocery industry is the shift in business models. To avoid physical contact, people these days expect to use different mobile payment applications. They are also reluctant to buy groceries in areas classified as hot spots or in crowded stores.

It makes it difficult for traditional wholesalers and retailers to engage their customers and increase sales without changing the traditional revenue and business model.

2. Mismanagement of the supply chain

As we mentioned earlier in our article on the effect of coronavirus on industries, about 40% of companies, including grocery stores, have supply chain management problems.

All these companies find it hard to plan and control their supply chain performance and to meet increasing consumer demands in the middle of the closure and related positions.

3. Less labour

Since supermarket workers have to keep in touch with multiple people while they work, they are afraid to contact an injured person and lose their lives. Moreover, there are several reports revealed numerous supermarket workers who died due to the new Coronavirus crisis.

These factors prevent them from going to work, which ultimately leaves grocery businesspeople wondering how to run their business with limited human resources.

4. Delay in delivery

In most grocery stores, delivery partners work under a contract. During COVID 19 crisis period, they are not ready to act due to the fear of infection. Again, this makes it difficult for grocers to deliver all foods to consumers’ doorsteps in real-time.

5. The shift in consumer behavior

Last but not the least, the other challenge facing grocery companies these days is the fundamental change in consumer demand and research behavior. On average, consumers are starting to cook six home dinners, compared to only 3.8 dinners per week in 2018.

For this reason, they need more food supplies and basic materials instead. But to avoid multiple visits to the store, they hope to store items instead.

One result of this is that many shoppers can’t find 40% of the grocery products mentioned in their shopping list, even after visiting the store two or three times.

Moreover, it is also noted that consumers only buy special items on all fancy items, which creates an imbalance in the internal management process.

Let’s Wrap Up

On the positive side, the COVID 19 pandemic has given a wide opportunity to the online grocery stores to expand their business. Online grocery shopping is definitely a safer way to purchase your daily essentials and that’s too at the comfort of your home. In the near future, we can see the more number of people will be shifted to online grocery shopping. So, if you are an entrepreneur and want to start your online grocery business, you need an app development company that can create secure, scalable and feature-packed grocery mobile applications as per your specific business needs.

Originally published at https://www.appsted.com on May 27, 2020.

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Lori Caricofe

Software tester by profession. Fast learner, Passionate about tech. Good sense of humour, & Enjoy challenges!