We at SIMC(UG) or it is SCMC(?), aren’t huge believers of ‘vacations’ and therefore at the end of every Semester we ship ourselves to the respective Organizations assigned – anxiously hoping for success, satisfied by mere survival.
To me such excursions symbolize an opportunity far greater than what is generally assigned to an Intern, the prospect of understanding a Company’s ‘work’ environment, ‘work’ culture and those who ‘work’ around you; is in my humble opinion just as important as your actual ‘work’.
This May, I find myself a Management Trainee with SC Johnson (makers of brands/products like All Out, Kiwi, Mr. Muscle and Glade) in their structured Summers of Goodwill initiative. My project is to strategize how a traditional FMCG Company can leverage the Indian eCommerce boom.
While eCommerce remains a subject I’m passionate about, bringing elements of Marketing and Public Relations into the mix was/is important, nay essential – internet is today, without doubt the single most powerful medium for projecting your voice.
Over the past two weeks, my research of Online Grocery stores has been thorough to say the least. According to retail consultancy Technopak, the online grocery retail market is growing at a CAGR (Compounded Annual Growth Rate) of 25 to 30 percent in the top ten metros of the country. With over 116 players, yes 116, the competition is fierce with the current market leaders being BigBasket.com, Localbanya.com, Zopnow.com, Greencart.in etc.
Moving on, after a little analysis a few key findings emerged:
- 80% of the Company’s Geographical Reach is limited to the location of their Headquarters. So, this is a ‘Local’ business.
- Delivery speed is where the real battle lies, with the fastest promising fulfilment in 1.5 hours and the slowest in over 72. So, our generations ever diminishing patience and attention spans are under the spotlight – eagerly awaiting an opportunity to be tapped.
- Approximately less than 10 percent have developed iOS and Android Apps, yet 90 percent of the leaders found it necessary to invest resources in doing so. So, considering that the Boston Consulting Group expects India’s internet population to reach 580 million by 2018, with 70 to 80 percent accessing the web from a handheld devices – it is critical to if not be Mobile-only, at a minimum be Mobile friendly.
Put the above three together and you’ll have the latest ‘IN’ thing (fad) of the Indian/Worldwide Startup ecosystem. I speak of, obviously, the emergence of Hyperlocal Apps such as Grofers, Paytm, Wooplr, and Quikli etc – a result of the rise of hyper-local marketing or local commerce.
Trying to be (for a change) an early adopter of this phenomenon as well as for the sake of experimentation, I had the opportunity to twice use Grofer’s services – both times walking away reasonably satisfied.
The process is elementary,
Download App -> Choose Category (Grocery, Bakery etc.) -> Choose Shop -> Choose Product(s) -> Checkout -> Payment (CC/DC/Netbanking or CoD) -> Delivery (90 Minutes)
Interesting observations:
- Your privacy is maintained; even your Phone Number is shared with the ‘Boy’ only if he is not able to find your address.
- Ordering Gatorade, I enjoyed a free Mango.
- Ordering a Pastry, I realized they’re trained thoroughly enough to practically insist on ensuring that the order reaches only the person it is intended for.
A unique service, unsurprising enough, investors don’t hand you a $45.5 million (Rs. 270 crore) cheque for nothing!
Seemingly random, I feel a brainwave coming.
To be continued..