The Elephant In The Room: Grocery Shopping

Grocery shopping, a seemingly simple task, can actually be quite challenging to get right. As a foodie and a vegetarian who enjoys cooking Indian cuisine, I require a diverse range of items in my kitchen on a daily basis. However, maintaining a well-stocked pantry can be difficult, especially as a working woman. If my kitchen is not properly stocked up, I am more likely to eat out, which could potentially impact my health in the long run.

Having worked as an engineer at India’s largest B2B e-commerce company for a few years, I have become extremely curious about the consumer buying experience and I’m constantly on the look out for better alternatives.

After relocating from India to Singapore, I noticed a significant shift in my grocery shopping routine. It made me reflect on how my shopping patterns have evolved over the years, based on factors like my age, location, and the options available to me. I was fascinated by how my grocery choices have a significant impact on my cooking and lifestyle. Upon pondering this further, I came to the realization that I need a new approach to online grocery shopping which I will share in the end.

Grocery shopping evolution

As I grew up, moved cities and changed as an individual, my grocery shopping methods also evolved.

The Monthly Grocery List — Maligai Kadai

I was born and brought up in a small city called Trichy in India and grocery shopping was primarily done offline. My family always bought groceries at the same store that was closest to our home. At the beginning of every month, we would make a list of items that we need for the month, jot it down on a piece of paper and drop it at the store. The shopkeeper would later pack all of these and deliver them in a day or two at our home.

This method encouraged us to plan ahead and list everything we need at one shot. The prompt delivery and quality were always guaranteed. Additionally, we established a good rapport with the shopkeeper as we saw each other regularly. So when something that was listed was not available, the shopkeeper would send a good substitute.

However, this method was not feasible for small purchases. Let’s say I suddenly ran out of sugar, I would still have to go to the shop and buy it myself.

Even today when I visit my hometown, I still use this method, partly due to familiarity and partly because there are no better alternatives available.

Walk to a grocery store

When I relocated to Chennai for work, I found myself either living alone or with a couple of friends. During this period, my grocery shopping method changed.

After work, I would stop at the store, purchase whatever I thought I would need for the next few days, and carry it back home. The greatest advantage of this method was that I never had to worry about storage since I only stocked up a little in my kitchen.

However, there were numerous drawbacks to this approach. It was incredibly time-consuming, consuming a large portion of my evenings, and it rarely allowed me to experiment with new recipes since I only purchased a set list of ingredients to prepare the same meals. Furthermore, not having much stocked up in the kitchen led to me eating out often.

Night at the super market

I transitioned from stopping at a store to a new method where I basically used a mobile app to order groceries daily before 10 PM, which were then delivered the next morning at 7 AM.

The biggest advantage of this method was I could buy only what I needed without having to worry about storage. Additionally, I didn’t have to spend my evening after a long day at work buying groceries. This method also gave me sufficient time till 10 PM to decide what I want for the next day and allowed me to experiment cooking new recipes.

On the flip side, the service was more expensive, less reliable, and sometimes delivered low quality items or delivered late. But these incidents happened rarely, and I was extremely happy with the service until the app suddenly shut down one day.

Instant grocery delivery

Around 2022, I was married and also had a keen interest in cooking, but due to the ongoing Covid pandemic, I was hesitant to go out regularly to purchase groceries. Unfortunately the previous apps that I was using were not available.

This was when a bunch of mobile apps were launched where we could order groceries and get it delivered within 30 mins (WOW!). These apps also offered substantial discounts with no minimum order value.

Although I was curious about their business model (felt sad for the VC money), I found these apps extremely convenient and safe to use during the pandemic. I could order ingredients anytime and get them delivered almost instantly, which motivated me to cook more frequently and try out new recipes.

However, shopping on these apps became addictive. I stopped planning my orders effectively, resulting in random purchases. I was often buying more things than what I intended to buy, thus leading to me spend more money every week than what I usually would. Also the quality and price of the groceries were not always the best.

Sliding into dms [the non creepy way]

I recently relocated from India to Singapore and have been trying to order Indian groceries online. There are multiple websites and apps available for it. But in my experience so far, I find the websites super slow, the quality of products to be poor when ordered online and they are also more expensive than buying from a physical store.

One day, I discovered an Indian store in Singapore that allowed customers to place orders via Whatsapp and offered home delivery for purchases above a certain amount. I decided to give it a try.

Here’s how it works. The shop keeper and I are connected on Whatsapp. I send all the items that I need on the chat and the shopkeeper tells me whether she can deliver the same night (9 PM) or the next night, typically packing my order around 8 PM. If any of the items are not available, she suggests alternative options, and I choose one.

The minimum order value gets met when I add all items I need for a week, so I place an order once a week.

I love this method for some of the following reasons

• Encourages me to plan my grocery needs on a weekly basis
• I have plenty of time to remember and add items to my order until 8 PM, so I rarely forget anything
• The products delivered are generally fresh and I can quickly call and give feedback if something goes wrong.
• I like that I don’t have to navigate multiple product pages, add items to the cart etc

Chatting my grocery list is a breeze!

Product pitch — Chat based grocery delivery

In all seriousness, while OpenAI’s presence is certainly notable, it’s not the driving force behind my idea.

Have you ever felt like monthly online grocery shopping is becoming a repetitive task? While the traditional catalog-based shopping is useful in a lot of cases, it can also become tedious in this case. As a frequent grocery shopper, I often know exactly what I need, the quantity required, and even the brand preference. That’s where the idea of a chat-based grocery delivery system comes in.

Imagine a chat-based grocery delivery service where you can simply list down everything you need, and a bot responds with information on the availability of each item and suggests alternatives for any unavailable choices. You can then agree on a delivery time, and a cut-off time until which you can request for items. This approach moves away from the rigid order-based concept and towards a more fluid “add items till a cut off time on chat” concept.

As an Engineer, I understand that this is a complex idea and there are multiple angles to consider for successfully running this business. However, I believe that it has the potential to revolutionize the way we shop for groceries online. If this sparks your interest, I would love to discuss this idea further with you.

It is undeniable that grocery shopping and delivery are challenging problems. My personal shopping experience has been shaped by the places I have lived in and the resources available there. Though I currently depend on WhatsApp for most of my grocery needs, I still occasionally shop at a store. There is something fun and fulfilling about being physically present at a store and discovering new products, even if it’s just window shopping. In my opinion, online grocery shopping cannot completely replace offline shopping, but it is of great value when done correctly.

As I continue to explore different approaches to grocery shopping, I look forward to upping my shopping game.