Online shopping experiences, particularly fresh produce..

[Tombo46 10]

Ello everyone. I'm looking for some peoples good honest accounts of their on-line shopping experiences. Particularly when it comes to fresh produce. I'm interested in peoples experience of both the higher end of the market such as your organic delivery services (Abel & Cole, Riverford etc) and also peoples opinion of the service offered by the supermarkets particularly when it comes to fresh produce.

 

I own a Greengrocers and we have been working for the past year on moving into on-line based home delivery. We are looking to supply a small local catchment area of about a 5 mile radius so not on a massive scale (yet!). I want to give the best service I possibly can which is the reason for this thread.

 

I want to avoid the things people dislike and try to strive for the things people do like so I'm interested in peoples likes/dislikes about their current on-line ordering arrangement. Anything at all will be a help. The common complaints we hear with the supermarkets are things such as poor quality produce, being forced to buy more than they need (bogof's etc) and replacement item's not being anything like what they ordered. Positives usually include things like being able to choose specific delivery slots and generally low pricing. As for the organic services most people complain about the longevity and price of the produce and only being able to deliver once a week whereas people like the taste and the fact that it's organic.

 

Any experiences good or bad I'm really interested in hearing so I can shape the business to suit peoples needs instead of what I think they want.

 

I won't promote the business on here as I would imagine it's against forum rules!

 

Thanks in advance to anyone who can take the time to share their experience with me.

 

All the best,

 

Tom

[skinz 10]

I prefer to handle the goods before buying, especially fresh.

 

Last 2 melons I ordered online turned out to be a bit too small and squidgy.

[Tombo46 10]

I prefer to handle the goods before buying, especially fresh.

 

Last 2 melons I ordered online turned out to be a bit too small and squidgy.

 

To be honest I also prefer to trade this way unfortunately the on-line sector is growing and those that don't move forwards get left behind =( Which supplier was it that send you the small over ripe melons out of interest?

 

Cheers,

 

Tom

[skinz 10]

To be honest I also prefer to trade this way unfortunately the on-line sector is growing and those that don't move forwards get left behind =( Which supplier was it that send you the small over ripe melons out of interest?

 

Cheers,

 

Tom

 

 

Bigknockers.com

[Tombo46 10]

Bigknockers.com

 

You'll have to forgive me for not getting the pun first time around...I'm still getting over an extremely busy Mothers Day...

[skinz 10]

You'll have to forgive me for not getting the pun first time around...I'm still getting over an extremely busy Mothers Day...

 

 

It's ok..I don't think the thread will last long anyway tombo..research/feedback n all that.

 

As for fresh produce delivered I wouldn't know really..popping into a shop for it isn't that much of an issue unless I was living somewhere rural or totally disabled.

[Mr Bloom 10]

This is one of the reasons I avoid online deliveries. The quality of the fresh produce is never 'hand-picked' to my standard.

[salsafan 10]

First of all, well done for even contemplating this. To be honest, I have talked to a friend about this before in the past about putting together some form of software which enables a supply-chain to work in a local setup. But the lack of drivers are possibly what makes it not work in many ways. So I can truly appreciate how hard it may be. I wish you all the luck.

 

Anyway, these are just ideas, and some of it are from experiences.

 

- Consider an "after office hours" delivery slot for the customers who may frequent your shop during the day but cannot carry them home ? This will allow you to slowly build up your business somewhat, and not just rely purely on online businesses, because you mentioned that your local delivery vicinity is only 5 miles. But does your demographic actually want this ? If you offer this service, then it can be both types of customers.

 

- I like Abel and Cole, and I will only consider them if my locals cannot give me what I want.

 

- I do find it harder and harder to gain delivery slots, even from local supermarkets. Most of the time, it is almost like 2-3 days afterwards of my online shop. It means I have to plan beforehand.

 

- I do not like paying for deliveries either, which some supermarket started to charge. I also often cannot find a closer timeline of deliveries. e.g. tomorrow.

 

- If you deliver, then prompt delivery and make sure that this is adhere to. Any possible failures here is not going to impress any potential customers. If you drop the ball, and I do not find you reliable, I will drop you as a supplier. That first impression do count a lot.

 

- Make your delivery slot pick to be as flexible and open as possible. Especially during the first few weeks of rollout anyway, cos you are trying to gain a good and decent reputation. Many businesses who use online to their advantage only truly works BECAUSE it was reliable. There is a famous local business story about Ebuyer, and Dabs. The only reason why they became bigger and joined the online shop wave was indeed because of their reliable delivery process. They have this nailed down. Words will indeed spread if you can make it reliable and it works well.

 

- Quality. Always give me quality. It's like, I now found a store in the market that can give me a decent size mooli, and their buyer truly looks at the freshness and the size aspect. The prices remain more or less the same. I will indeed go there again. I am beginning to dislike the supermarket ones more and more, as I can see that they are intensively grown, and it becomes a bog standard size. I do not mind if I have to wait for seasonal vegetables, especially if it is local. i.e. asparagus. As long as I know it is within a season and not grown outside of season which actually makes the produce less nice or ripe. Do not buy stock and give the ones which people may not find value for money. If you can truly pitch this well, then I dare say you shall be truly successful. It's like in Ozman, I found these spinach which blew me away. I am sure that they are imported. It was still full of dirt, but I do not mind. I just wash them, but the flavour is truly spot on.

 

- Do not try and sell and change the items often which confuses customers. Maybe you can have like 3 standard type boxes, and then one rotating box type based on seasonal items so that people can indeed buy them and try them. It really keep things fresh. But these ideas will be dependent on your local demographic.

 

- Really think about the pricing a lot. Whether this is like a 5 pound box or a 7 pound box and so forth. The Abel and Cole ones have crept up over the years. For a local grocer, you got to be careful that you do not overinflate I guess. Consider the average price of a shop in Sheffield. It will indeed be a luxury for those moms and grannies not to carry a 3kg+ shop back home. But for credibility, you really got to pick the greatest items, as if the grannies picked it themselves for their family. I think this is important.

 

- Oh, have truly decent photos of the box or the produce to buy that credibility as well. A photo speaks a thousand word. I really am wanting to be able to see what I am getting before buying. But you got to also not shoot yourself in the foot as well, and make it price compatible but the stock is kinda mediocre and cannot feed an average of say 1-2 people or say a family. Astute judgment call is needed in this area I think.

 

 

Well, good luck !

[tzijlstra 11]

I like the idea a lot and I hope you will get it going.

 

I must say I wouldn't order fresh produce online, but from a local firm (where I can go to a store to complain should I want to) makes it far more interesting. I think that is a unique selling point you should put central in your marketing.

 

There are some issues I see with your plan though - you are a green-grocers, we don't spend more than... 8-12£ on veg and fruit in a week, this is a small amount and might well mean that it isn't worth the hassle of ordering online, especially not if there is a delivery charge - which makes the business model awkward. (I suspect this is why the model isn't popular yet).

 

What would help that problem is if you did this and offered more than just veg and fruit. For example, team up in a consortium with a local fishmonger ,butcher, a cheese shop, hell even flowers.

 

You are competing with the Tescos and Waitroses out there, if you can expand your offering just enough to make it interesting to compete with them for fresh foods you might well be onto a winner.

 

You can frame this model by copying the concept where people get a set amount of groceries delivered, tailored to a number of recipes that provide enough for for example three/four days worth of evening meals. (I forgot what the service is called that does this, sorry). Offer different packages - for example a package based on the trendy diet of that month (is it 5-2 at the moment?) with recipes etc. included.

 

What about a package where you deliver all the ingredients and a recipe for a dinner-party and that sort of thing? Or perhaps lunch-packages for a week, different salads, wraps and the like.

 

There are countless opportunities, but it will be hard to get going properly, especially if you are relying on delivering low-value goods (ie. just veg and fruit) - overhead will be murderous until you build up a loyal customerbase.

[skinz 10]

I like the idea a lot and I hope you will get it going.

 

I must say I wouldn't order fresh produce online, but from a local firm (where I can go to a store to complain should I want to) makes it far more interesting. I think that is a unique selling point you should put central in your marketing.

 

There are some issues I see with your plan though - you are a green-grocers, we don't spend more than... 8-12£ on veg and fruit in a week, this is a small amount and might well mean that it isn't worth the hassle of ordering online, especially not if there is a delivery charge - which makes the business model awkward. (I suspect this is why the model isn't popular yet).

 

What would help that problem is if you did this and offered more than just veg and fruit. For example, team up in a consortium with a local fishmonger ,butcher, a cheese shop, hell even flowers.

 

You are competing with the Tescos and Waitroses out there, if you can expand your offering just enough to make it interesting to compete with them for fresh foods you might well be onto a winner.

 

You can frame this model by copying the concept where people get a set amount of groceries delivered, tailored to a number of recipes that provide enough for for example three/four days worth of evening meals. (I forgot what the service is called that does this, sorry). Offer different packages - for example a package based on the trendy diet of that month (is it 5-2 at the moment?) with recipes etc. included.

 

What about a package where you deliver all the ingredients and a recipe for a dinner-party and that sort of thing? Or perhaps lunch-packages for a week, different salads, wraps and the like.

 

There are countless opportunities, but it will be hard to get going properly, especially if you are relying on delivering low-value goods (ie. just veg and fruit) - overhead will be murderous until you build up a loyal customerbase.

 

The problem with the model initially is that the chains can take a loss over a period that would seriously effect the sole trader, unless the sole trader has excess funds to meet the competition head on.

[mlfc 10]

I've tried ASDA and Tesco and sometimes felt that the fresh food they selected for us wasn't what I'd have picked. I haven't tried Morrisons yet

 

We've recently switched to Sainsbury's and they are much better. All the picked fruit and veg is superb. They are a bit more expensive but I get 3% cashback at Sainsbury's which helps.

 

An interesting point I'd make is that in store it's usually more expensive to buy fresh food that is packaged up for you and cheaper if you are prepared to spend a little time putting it in the bags yourself. With online you get the best of both worlds as you can order the loose products and get the lower price and the store pack them for you anyway.

[salsafan 10]

The problem with the model initially is that the chains can take a loss over a period that would seriously effect the sole trader, unless the sole trader has excess funds to meet the competition head on.

 

Because it is a local shop, it does not mean that it has to be a fully functioning workable online service straight away. He can just find out who his regular customers are, and do a run test and build up on top of that. There is never need to go all out and risk. Successful businesses still go where their customers want to go.

 

With the economic downturn, people psychologically will indeed want a cheaper option, and if he can squeeze in that niche but nice, and keep it small market, he can indeed turn things around. Most people just want reliability basically.

 

(Basically, because of the market changes, he now has an opportunity to meet those new market demands. e.g. local, and reliable. If he can manage to tick these boxes, then he is onto a winner. Because of changing habit of buyers, it means changing market conditions, and when there is an opportunity, then he can try to gain more percentage by meeting those new demands.)

Edited April 1, 2014 by salsafan