6 strategies for grocers preparing for the new e-commerce future
Before the pandemic hit, retailers were steadily updating their operations in anticipation of some distant point when e-commerce would become a mainstream channel for shoppers. They rolled out apps and websites, purchased software and ushered fulfillment staff into their aisles and backrooms. Some even started investing in robots.
And then, in the blink of an eye, the future was at their doorstep.
Companies have scrambled to add fulfillment capacity over the past several weeks as shoppers have migrated en masse to the perceived safety of online grocery shopping. As retailers emerge from this survival mode and survey the landscape, they face the challenge of not just improving online fulfillment, but also achieving profitability on a faster timeline than most imagined. Three-year strategies have now become three-month strategies.
