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Why Buyers and Businesses Should Go for Grocery Shopping Apps During Coronavirus Lockdown

6 Apr 20  

 
Reading Time: 5 minutes

Thejas Udayan

thejasudayan

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The recent footage of Americans flooding the supermarkets in an insane shopping spree was quite disturbing. The visuals are not just coming from the United States but from all over the world. Especially, those areas where the coronavirus outbreak and community spread has resulted in a government-initiated a lockdown. European Union, Nigeria, India and other Asian countries, the list grows on and on.

Now, Why Is Launching an Online Grocery Store or Grocery Delivery App the Best Way to Fight Corona?

empty shelves in supermarket

The fundamental thing that authorities and public agencies need to understand is that “COVID-19” or “No-COVID-19”, people always focus on small things. They are not keen on saving the world as much as they are keen to ensure their evening bread. Only a momentary fear for life is keeping the citizens inside and the seriousness would be forgotten in a matter of days if they roam around more. For example, watch this shopping guideline from the famous news network Inside Edition:

The guidelines itself show that they are as vulnerable as group meetings. The fear, emotional stress and the mental exertion of being always protective takes a toll on people’s clear mind. The video clip shows exactly why shopping outside is not an option anymore. The three things we can clearly see are :

#1 People Forget Safety in Grocery Premises

Just look at the video again you can see that every shopper was focusing on feeling the things, examining them and all without any protection, with just bare hands. And if they are falling sick tomorrow then every shopper is in a kind of trouble.

#2 People Are Worried 

a panic man

Yes, this is an undeniable fact, we are all worried because we are just ordinary human beings. Now, shopping looks like taking a round on the borderline. You are indeed putting yourself at risk. And that’s quite distressing for many citizens. They just don’t want to go out, especially doctors and ultra-cautious members of the society.

#3 The Remote Workers

a man coding on his macbook from his home

Well, not all of us have the luxury of time right now. Government directives like Philadeplhia’s stay at home order or the lockdown in the pan-Asian countries have forced many businesses to operate remotely. Just imagine nearly 130 million IT employees in the US and many millions of other employees are all working at home. They can’t afford to go shopping without a cut in working hours. Because directives force many shops to open for fixed regular hours. They need to survive. 

Online shopping is the best way to integrate these diverse needs into one single solution. Grocery delivery apps can indeed play a very effective role in social distancing and break the coronavirus chain. 

Perks of Shopping Grocery Online During Corona Outbreak

Shopping online using web apps and mobile apps are not something that is new. But considering the current situation, it is an absolute necessity. Because :

  • It helps social distancing – Ordering products through online grocery stores and other mobile app development tools is a very effective way to ensure social distancing. Yes, it needs some precautions which we will be covering below. But, right now, nothing works as strongly as this. The Chinese experience is a testimony to this fact. Just check the video below where elderly corona suspects and infected were provided essential goods through mobile grocery delivery apps and solutions.

  • Prevents Goods Wastage – The COVID-19 lockdown was an unexpected lock-down. No one saw it coming. On one day there was a shopping spree and grocery shop owners must have refilled stocks and then it’s a total shutdown. With the world economy showing a dip of 2-2.5% GDP for each month of lockdown, we need to understand goods are super precious now. We can’t afford to waste them.

  • Keeps Economy Going – “There is no doubt that we have entered recession”, says IMF chief. Period. But this is not the end of the economy. The cycle can go well more than drag itself if we keep the supply-demand cycle going on. And corona has only hit massive market gatherings not consumption. Consume we will have to survive. And with safety measures supply won’t be a problem. Yes, the real challenge will be to interlink them and that we can with simple grocery delivery mobile apps.

There are many other perks to mention but it is essential to cover the practical aspects of implementing this grocery delivery solution in the time of coronavirus lockdown across the world. 

How to Implement this Solution Practically?

The real question of every innovative idea is “how”?

So moving into the “how” of the things, let’s get into the practical aspects of implementing such a solution. 

  • The first difficulty that a grocery store owner or an offline supermarket chain might feel is in developing such a grocery online solution. Well, you must not forget that as mentioned before, millions of IT professionals are all working day and night to ensure that the virtual world of services goes smoothly. Hence, you can approach any efficient mobile app development company to start your project

  • The second thing to note is that you are not here trying to build a massive brand, so if you hire a company that is going to build your mobile app in three months or so you will already be into heavy losses. The need of the hour is to save the stocks and create quick and working supply-demand links. Hence, go for a quick to implement Whitelabel solution. For example, Mindster has redesigned its mobile grocery delivery apps and solutions to go live in less than 4-5 days.

  • The third difficulty is to find a clean delivery crew. When we say clean we mean those who are equipped with safety measures so that they do not spread infection. This was challenging in the initial days of lockdown. But thanks to the facts that governments know it can’t simply run on its appointed regiment of officials. For example, India has been hailed greatly for dealing with its quick and intelligent measures of containing the virus spread with such a huge population. The states in India are calling out Corona Warriors and young volunteers for dealing with the situation. Connecting with authorities would be a great way to take this forward.

Finally,

it is best to remember that we are facing a crisis that’s unlike any other in the history of the modern world. The best and the fortunate thing is that we have the power of the internet led mobile technologies to show us light in this dark time. In the coming days even doctor booking apps, e-commerce applications, medical equipment delivery and even saloon slot booking apps are going to be needed to settle back onto our normal course of life. Let’s make the best use of our resources to save our scarce resources. Stay home, stay safe and shop your groceries safely.