Why Taking Hyperlocal Ecommerce Route Is Key To Success For Grocery Brands In India

As an online grocery seller, what do you expect from your business? 

Increased traffic, higher ROI, lots of sales, repeated customers etc. right?

But wondering how to achieve this.

Well, when it comes to buying groceries online, customers look for first, quick deliveries and second, a vast product catalogue. 

So the question that remains here is how to achieve both, that too without spending millions.

The answer is - go for hyperlocal ecommerce!

Wonder why or how this specific model is gonna do the trick for your business?

Let’s try to figure out with some facts and figures of the hyperlocal ecommerce market for grocery.

• llion is the projected growth of the Indian online grocery market by 2032
• $ 5.02 billion is the expected market size of global hyperlocal services by 2027
• 214 million is the expected number of hyperlocal ecommerce shoppers in India by the end of 2022
• $ 3,634.3 billion is the expected reach of the hyperlocal ecommerce market by 2027
• $ 81.5 billion is the expected reach of the hyperlocal grocery delivery market by 2032

Source: Yourstory, Statista, IMARC Group

With India being the world's fastest-growing grocery market, the current market scenario offers the best opportunity for grocery enterprises to go hyperlocal. The penetration of high-speed internet to all corners of the country is one of the leading causes of extensive growth and demand for hyperlocal deliveries. When you are able to build a local ecosystem, customers come flocking to your grocery online store.

5 ways hyperlocal ecommerce will lead enterprise grocery brands in India to success

It's all about convenience today. From kiranas to e-carts, grocery shopping habits have changed drastically today. 42% of online grocery shoppers consider that they save time while buying groceries online. It implies the importance of hyperlocal ecommerce to sell grocery online across all ages and all geographies. 

1. Better customer targeting with multi-location stores

Targeted marketing has become much more efficient today. Once you have segmented your grocery buyers based on specific criteria, say location, it becomes easy to plan personalized promotional deals and offers. When you create multiple location-specific stores, you have a host of storefronts to target customers based on their unique needs, their preferences, their buying habits, etc. You can reach a wider market and achieve better ROI by going for hyperlocal ecommerce. 

Wondering how to bring targeted traffic to your business to boost your conversion rate? With StoreHippo’s multi-location store solution, set up a chain of location-specific stores in no time. On each of the sub-stores, you can add location-specific product catalogues or add best-selling products, enable the price override feature or design each store differently as per the location demands. Say for your grocery sub-store in the South, you can have specific designs around their culture and target the segmented audience. The multi-location store setup offers a low-cost and highly targeted means of marketing.  

2. Offer diverse products by onboarding local vendors

To establish oneself in the market and become a popular brand, a grocery enterprise brand needs to not only scale up to new product categories but also source products from far-off places. Offering a diverse range of products to your customers becomes much easier when you have multiple local grocery vendors from multiple locations. Say, you want to make makhana from Bihar available to your customers PAN India, you can onboard local vendors from Bihar dealing in the item. Your customers from different geo-locations can now order makhana. 

With StoreHippo’s multi-vendor ecommerce solutions, you can seamlessly onboard multiple local grocery vendors in your marketplace. The quick and easy vendor registration process from StoreHippo enables grocery vendors with no prior knowledge of selling online to also register and set up their product catalogues in no time. StoreHippo provides each seller with a separate vendor dashboard to manage their seller pages, inventories, orders, customers, deliveries, etc seamlessly. StoreHippo makes it easy for grocery brands to scale up to new product verticals by simply adding new vendors. Isn’t that a simple yet effective way to grow your business? It sure is.

3. Better brand awareness with offline presence through vendor store partnerships

At present, there are a total of 692 million active internet users in India and is expected to reach 900 million by 2025. Don’t you think it is just about the right time to solidify your digital presence and increase your brand awareness among the audience? We bet you do. 

But how to go about it? Have you thought about creating a buzz in the offline market through vendor-store partnerships? Yes, to attract offline or local store customers towards online shopping, you can make your brand visible in offline shops. Some easy ways to achieve this are offering branded packaging, giving additional discounts for buying online, offering branded freebies etc. You can partner with local vendors who encourage customers to shop from your hyperlocal ecommerce marketplace, and assure them of the same quality along with better deals. Local vendor and customer relationships help you promote your brand in a manner like no other marketing strategy can achieve. 

StoreHippo comes with a host of features that enables you to set location-based offers, discounts, etc that can attract local store shoppers to your marketplace. You can also reward your vendors by setting a different commission rate for them or offering discounted shipping solutions using pre-integrated delivery partners at StoreHippo. 

4. Faster shipping ensures customer satisfaction and retention 

To sell grocery online and be successful requires a streamlined delivery process. From receiving an order to dispatching it from the store and delivering the product to the customer's doorstep, the entire process needs to be quick and smooth.  

When you eliminate the delivery hiccups and ensure quick error-free delivery, you set your business on an upward growth trajectory. Wondering how to achieve that? By taking the hyperlocal ecommerce route. Yes, with local vendors onboard, you can have multiple vendors ensuring fast and streamlined hyperlocal deliveries. Isn’t this easier and better than your brand being solely responsible for handling the complex fulfilment game end-to-end?

To facilitate your vendors manage their deliveries better you can use the automated, in-built delivery management solutions from StoreHippo. With the advanced delivery solutions from StoreHippo your local grocery vendors can automate the entire delivery process and also use their own fleet of delivery boys to ensure smooth and quick shipping. With the in-built delivery management software, vendors can implement hassle-free fleet management and streamline delivery.

5. Differentiates your brand as customer-centric

Customers are going to shop the hyperlocal way and here is why! Suppose you want to buy snacks for a party and have no time for grocery shopping. You will immediately start searching for the products online and a lot of hyperlocal stores will pop up that can deliver products in less than 24 hours. 

When you go hyperlocal to sell grocery online, you get recognised as a customer-centric brand. Still wondering how? Apart from quick deliveries, brands also use multiple strategies to become customers’ favourites like gathering insights from local grocery vendors since they have personal relationships with the customers. Such insights help brands plan their personalized offers and deals, taking away the pain of grocery shopping. Isn’t that a win-win for both the seller and the end customer? 

StoreHippo comes with a host of built-in marketing tools, reports etc. that help you excel at hyperlocal ecommerce by offering what your customers want. The built-in design tools help you quickly set up your store design in a way that engages and converts buyers better.

You can also integrate with the best-in-breed analytics tools and software to strategize your marketing and make your customers perceive your brand as customer-centric. 

Conclusion

The hyperlocal ecommerce industry is going to witness a massive boom in the coming years. As more and more people tend to shop from the comfort of their homes, going hyperlocal to sell grocery online is one smart way to move up in the ecommerce industry in India.  

The key to successfully building, running and managing a grocery business is a comprehensive ecommerce solution provider like StoreHippo, which is equipped with end-to-end features like a location-based store setup, complete vendor management, a powerful discount engine, in-built marketing tools etc. With its 300+ built-in enterprise-grade features, StoreHippo gives grocery brands the flexibility to build disruptive hyperlocal solutions. Enterprises can leverage the power of MACH architecture to build innovative B2B+ B2C ecommerce solutions with StoreHippo. It’s time to uncover the huge potential your ecommerce business has. 

Catch the latest trend and start your hyperlocal ecommerce journey with the StoreHippo ecommerce platform. Experience the unique hyperlocal features with a 14-day free trial

FAQ'S 

1. How fast can I set up my hyperlocal ecommerce marketplace?

How soon you can set up your hyperlocal ecommerce marketplace typically depends on how ready you are with your vendor partnerships, catalogs and which ecommerce solution provider you choose. With a modern, cloud-based platform you can shorten the time-to-market considerably. 

With a robust hyperlocal ecommerce solution like StoreHippo, you can leverage pre-built modules and enterprise-grade features that streamline the setup process. StoreHippo’s built-in multi-location store setup and battle-tested solutions enable you to launch your marketplace quickly, often within days rather than weeks, ensuring you capture market opportunities without lengthy development cycles.

2. Is managing multiple vendors selling grocery across various geographic locations complex?

Managing vendors across multiple locations can seem daunting due to the need for coordination, inventory tracking and localized support. However, with an integrated solution, many complexities are automated, providing centralized control over diverse vendor networks. 

StoreHippo simplifies this process with its comprehensive built-in vendor management solutions, enabling easy onboarding, monitoring, and support for vendors across different regions. Its central dashboard helps admins have a completely transparent overview of vendor activities to streamline operations, reduce manual errors and ensure smooth collaboration, making it an ideal solution for handling multi-vendor setups efficiently.

3. Does each sub-store in a hyperlocal marketplace setup require a separate subscription?

In many cases, managing multiple sub-stores might lead to concerns about incurring additional subscription costs for each location. However, some ecommerce platforms allow you to manage multiple storefronts under one central subscription plan. 

StoreHippo addresses this challenge by offering a multi-location store solution where each sub-store is part of a single subscription. This approach with a common central admin to manage and monitor all the sub-stores of a hyperlocal marketplace not only reduces overall costs but also simplifies management, ensuring consistency and ease of operation across all your hyperlocal outlets.

4. Will it be possible to customize the storefront design and product catalogs for each location on my hyperlocal marketplace?

Customisation is essential for catering to diverse customer preferences in different regions. To elevate customer experiences across geographies you would need a platform that goes beyond basic design templates and helps with designing tailored storefronts and product catalogs for each geographic location. 

StoreHippo offers built-in design tools and drag and drop feature which makes it easy to customise storefront designs. You can easily customize the look, feel, and product offerings for each sub-store, ensuring that each location resonates with its local audience while maintaining brand consistency across your hyperlocal marketplace.

5. What apps will be needed to handle logistics for vendors and their delivery boys on my grocery hyperlocal marketplace?

 Efficient logistics management is critical in a hyperlocal marketplace, requiring applications that handle order tracking, delivery management, fleet coordination, and real-time updates. While there are several standalone apps available, integrating them seamlessly into your ecommerce ecosystem can be challenging. 

StoreHippo comes equipped with advanced, in-built logistics and delivery boy management app that simplify these tasks. This integrated approach not only streamlines operations for vendors and their delivery personnel but also enhances the overall customer experience by ensuring quick and reliable deliveries without the hassle of managing multiple disparate systems.

6. Do ecommerce platforms also give marketing tools for targeted marketing on each sub-store of my hyperlocal marketplace?

Targeted marketing requires tools that support localised promotional events, personalised offers and data-driven insights to reach specific audiences effectively. Essential tools include CRM systems, analytics dashboards, email marketing integrations, discount solutions and social media connectivity that can adapt to different regions’ preferences. 

StoreHippo offers a comprehensive suite of built-in marketing tools designed to nail marketing on your hyperlocal marketplace. With a powerful built-in discount engine, easy to build dynamic marketing pages, analytics to track customer behavior, etc. StoreHippo gives hyperlocal marketplaces the tools that ensure each sub-store can effectively target and engage its local customers and have a centralized oversight.

7. Will it be possible to scale beyond one geography/country for my grocery hyperlocal business?

Scaling your hyperlocal grocery business across regions or even countries typically involves overcoming challenges related to localized operations, regulatory differences, and integration of diverse vendor ecosystems. A scalable, flexible platform is essential to manage this complexity. 

StoreHippo is designed with scalability in mind. Its MACH architecture and built-in go global support with features for multi-location sub-stores, multilingual content, multi-currency payments, built-in tax engine, etc. make it easy to go beyond borders. By adding new vendors from different locations and setting up localised sub-stores you can easily take your hyperlocal grocery business to new geographies.