The milkman was far ahead of his time

My grandfather carried out this profession with dedication. As the third generation, I am more or less following in his footsteps. Not in milk, but in online delivery. For all groceries. Did you know that one in five Dutch people already do their grocery shopping online? According to the Food Marketing Institute and Nielsen Holdings, this will rise to 70 percent of households in America within 10 years! Are you ready for this?

Grocery shopping

We Dutch love to shop online. Compared to our neighboring countries, we have the fastest-growing online grocery market. Nevertheless, physical stores are still preferred. Why? Because of greater certainty and trust. When shopping online, consumers relinquish the certainty they have in a physical store. Physical contact with their groceries only occurs during delivery. What happens to their products between collection and delivery is unclear to them. Research by Nielsen Holdings shows that there are quite a few valid reasons not to buy groceries online. Additional costs, delivery time, and delivery errors are three of them.

The last mile

Of course, an online shopping experience will never be the same as in a physical store. However, we can achieve the same level, so that the physical store no longer needs to be missed. Syndy's report ‘The state of online grocery retail in Europe’ states that the biggest challenge lies in ‘the last mile’. Additional costs, delivery time, and delivery errors are directly attributable to this. Improvement in the final part of the online shopping process contributes to a better online shopping experience. If we make the process more transparent for the consumer, supplier, and driver alike, the consumer's experience improves. A dynamic process and open communication are key here.

Trust must be built

If we ensure that changes can occur throughout the day and communicate these within the organization, to the driver, and to the consumer, we make the delivery process transparent. Optimizing the process reduces costs, and communicating more detailed delivery times, information, and a more professional registration improves the delivery service. In short, the convenience and experience of buying groceries online will improve. Consumers will value the service more highly and ultimately shop online more often. Their trust is restored. They know they can rely on their online partner. Just as our parents and grandparents relied on their loyal milkman. That's what we need to get back to. To that certainty and trust. Will you join us?