Methodology

Secondary
Analysis

Identification
of factors

Primary
Analysis

Indepth Study

Recommendat
ion

The process above shows the steps of how we proceeded into our research for the project. We will explain
each segment for the methodology above, how we went about it, the output obtained and the conclusions
drawn from it in detail now.

Secondary Analysis
Data Analysis and Environment Scan
Grocery shopping forms an elemental part of Indian households where it is typically a monthly ritual. The
phenomena is strong throughout the nation in urban as well as rural areas.
The key features of this exercise seen in all sections of the society as listed:
- Bulk basket purchases
- Shopping carried out during the beginning of every month
- Repetitive behaviour exhibited in store selections (kiranas or modern retail stores)
- Planned grocery list
- Fixed budgets
The urban cities however have come a long way in their media of grocery shopping. Dominated initially by
local kirana stores, modern retail hit the metros of India in during the millennium year and soon trickled
down to some smaller towns.
But despite the general acceptance of the MT
channel its penetration has been very poor as can
be seen. India stands last when compared to its
counterparts in the subcontinent. Reasons
attributed to this dismal performance are:
- No credit facility
- Proximity to households
- Delivery issues
- Perceived as expensive
-Limited product portfolio
Overcoming the deterrents this channel is here to
stay as urbanization climbs uphill and government
policies attract investments in this sector. It goes
to show that Indian are open to considering new
channels.
Lately the growing younger, technological advanced, time starved and convenience seeking population
has paved the path for a new channel for grocery shopping: E-tail. The online market in India is booming
and e-tail constitutes a major part of this as seen below.
The other segments in this being travel industry,
banking and classifieds which have managed the
space well leading to most of their revenues
coming from this sector. What it goes to prove is
that doing things online is the new way to go.

The target is typically the younger, technologically advanced populations.

Also with greater awareness the average time spent by an individual in the e-tail sphere is up to 3 hours,
55% of which is accessed by mobile phones. Online grocery though well established in the western
markets is at its nascent stage in India but is well received with traffic growing steadily over months.
Online Grocery Site Rank
Online
Grocery Rank
Online
Grocery Rank
Site
Site
Bigbasket
355
Zopnow
1647
Citykirana
51375
LocalBanya
1570
Onekirana
23826
Grofers
1120
Owning to the lucrative proposition even the big players like Amazon and Flipkart have joined the frenzy
with their grocery sections which are operative during the first few days of every month as the key
features listed above hold ground in this channel as well.
The environment scan included extensive experimenting with the existing portals functioning in India to
understand their patterns. Based on this we have been able to define the online grocery model which
functions differently compared to the online marketplace models. The differences are explained below:
Online
Grocery
(eg. Online Marketplace (eg. Amazon)
Bigbasket)
Construct

Dedicated City based business National Store with courier fulfillment

model

Inventory Holding

Self owned, ~14 days

Product
Assortment

Basic

Retailer does not

manage their own

own

inventory,

sellers

Wide

Shopper Purchase Regular: Monthly/fortnightly

Frequency

Frequent browsing for a variety of product

types

Type of Trip

Stock-up/Basket buy

Browsing

Delivery Time

2 days maximum

~ 14 days

Research

Limited

High

Key Reason
Convenience
Assortment
Overall we were able to find certain features across all the e-grocery portals which are listed below:
1. City Specific Portals: The evolved sites direct consumers to offerings according to their city.
Though the reason for this is the city specific inventory model, it enables them to give consumers
quick delivery and city specific offers.
2. Free Home Delivery: This feature carries on from most of e-tail counterparts albeit above a
certain basket cost. What is different however, the delivery time which is much shorter (~1day)
owning to the nature of goods.
3. Easy Login: Not letting registration be a hassle, consumers can login from popular portals
(facebook, google) allowing the customer to access personal information.
4. Basket Deals: Promotions here are of the nature of basket deals rather than discounts, single
product/range features pushing consumers to purchase more.
5. Delivery Slots: Understanding that consumers are time starved and need to accept orders in
persons, portals allow consumers to choose convenient delivery slots.
6. Saved Shopping Lists: Grocery being a repetitive, planned purchase where items remain
constant (more or less) over time, allowing consumer to save their previous lists is an added benefit
which saves time.

Identification of Factors:
The list of triggers and barriers that work in a consumers mind while doing grocery shopping online are
given as:
Drivers
Time -Consumers have liberty to take their time and
build their order whenever and where ever.
-It saves them the time of going to a store,
searching & comparing products and waiting in
lines for payment
Convenience -Comfort of your home
-Home delivered
-Delivery at convenient time
-Different modes of payment
Social Status -Shopping mode of new age advanced people
-If she can do it so can I
Assortment -Wide variety
-Premium to middle end goods
-Fresh produce also available
Shopping & delivery
-No restricted shopping hours
-A lot of offers, deals and discounts available
-Delivery slots as per convenience
Saves Fuel
-Saves fuel even if the store is nearby
-Dont have to worry about parking the car

Barriers
Trust-Authenticity of the new e-stores
-Duplicate brand selling possible
-Adulteration of food items is a major concern

Perishables-Accustomed to buying offline

-Freshness/quality check not possible
-Handpicking best/ripest pieces not possible
Homemaker Image Grocery shopping qualifies as one of the primary
responsibilities of a housewife and doing it online
challenges her position
Last Mile -Additional information required at last minute
-Mode of payment
-Failure of gateway
-Elaborate registrations
Limited Delivery Area
People find store shopping an enjoyable and
engaging experience

Family Time
Going to a grocery store is a good family time for
ladies, and they feel good when they touch the
products then buy it. They are feel proud.
Rates
-The rates are perceived to be higher
-The local seller gives discount, credit.
-Cannot bargain
All the above factors fall under those defined by the Technology Acceptance Model I: Attitude, Ease of
Use and Perceived Usefulness.

Primary Research
To understand the significance of the factors listed above surveys and in-depth interviews on online
consumers were conducted. Further. To learn about the impact created when they played together, we
employed Conjoint Analysis. Here 3 major groups of factors were identified namely: Trust, Convenience
and Add-on features. Playing with them, 6 unique combinations were created, stories were spin around
them and user opinions were noted. For eg. The story of a customer which is strong in the first two
features but weak on the third would be like: Orange.com is now an old and sought after online grocery
store. Their superior customer support and authentic products have made them a favourite. They go the
extra mile for their customers enabling easy Facebook logins, cash on delivery and choice delivery slots
the record breaking delivery time being 3 hours! However, the site is pretty primitive with no frills like save
for later and compare. They also do not have a mobile app to allow user access from smart phones.
To enrich our data gathering and analysis we are still working on what other frameworks and methods can
be used.

https://www.kpmg.com/IN/en/IssuesAndInsights/ArticlesPublications/Documents/BBG-Retail.pdf
http://www.economist.com/news/business/21625799-modern-food-retailing-has-struggled-win-customersindias-old-fashioned-merchants-long