As if this Christmas shopping season wasn’t disrupted enough, up pops another Covid variant to add extra stress to the system. Renewed nervousness about visiting busy retail outlets will inevitably trigger a last-minute scramble online, even if capacity at the big grocers is already maxed out.
Our collective pandemic experience has driven interest in local and specialist grocery brands and retailers, and Omicron’s sudden appearance is likely to grow this trend, while piling pressure on these smaller players.
The opportunity for them is huge. As well as the seasonal grocery shop with its tendency to trade up, we can expect a last-minute spike in corporate and personal gifting of fresh produce. Office parties and other corporate hospitality plans have been put on hold and families may be rethinking large gatherings. Gourmet hampers, fine wines, artisan chocolates, cheese selections and the like may be the next best thing to meeting IRL.
Success for these businesses will lie in reassuring customers they can rise to the challenge. The e-commerce platforms they launched during the pandemic are now functioning well, but they need to prove they can match Amazon on delivery. The ‘expectation creep’ – driven by the online behemoth’s ability to deliver next day, and increasingly same day – means people want the same from all retailers.
Some of the larger independent grocery businesses may have an in-house fleet or another existing carrier that is sized for predictability. But combine supply chain chaos with a seasonal peak that suddenly goes into overdrive, and that finely tuned operation can stutter. The result is failed deliveries, perishable goods that are thrown away and customers that won’t come back.
Interestingly some newer, smaller players may be better placed because they had to build a range of flexible delivery options – with ship from store at the core – during peak Covid unpredictability. A surge support system that integrates seamlessly with internal processes means the ability to flex is baked in, and avoids having to overinvest in expensive in-house operations when faced with unpredictable, same-day delivery pressures.
Research carried out by Gophr in early November 2021 revealed a surprising 50% of businesses questioned had still not finalised their peak season logistics planning. In the face of another unpredictable peak, the addition of a flexible last-mile, same-day service supported by robust technology holds the key – and may quite literally save Christmas.
No comments yet