Why Is E-commerce Becoming Increasingly Important to Grocery Stores? Essay

Introduction

Businesses are changing the way they sell their products to capture a significant market share. Enterprises are increasingly adopting e-commerce as a way of reaching a vast number of consumers. E-commerce is buying and selling transactions conducted online. Today, the consumers are shifting to the internet for their commercial dealings. To conform to consumers trends, sectors that never sold through the internet are embracing the initiative. Recently, the grocery stores have joined the league of e-commerce in the sale of groceries.

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The numbers of people shopping online are increasing. Today, the marketplace has a massive flow of customers on the internet (Thomas & Simmons, 2010). The customers` choice for a grocery store is mainly from the value they offer and convenience. Most grocery stores have perfected the art of giving benefit to clients through stocking assorted fresh produce. Thus, the more reason the stores are increasingly adopting online selling since it is convenient. For grocery stores survival in business, they had to take online trading. Just like any other businesses, the fresh produce stores are facing competition from online merchants like Amazon.com. Thus, their shift to e-commerce enhances their competitive edge.

The reach to shoppers online unlike physical shops is unlimited. Therefore, in diversifying their operations to include online shops, grocery merchants will attract much more clients. Furthermore, the cost of expansion in e-commerce is lower than leasing for more rental space. Stores save on the rent and additional staff cost that comes with an extension. Thus, grocery stores can manage to cut on their operational cost and at the same time increase sales. Consequently, the stores experience an increase in profitability.

Discuss Grocery Shopping and Its Channel Growth in the United States.

Food is the only item in a shoppers list that is a necessity. Even in economic hardships, people have to buy foodstuff and specifically groceries. Therefore, the grocery business has remained lucrative. Statistics of 2016 indicates that households spent approximately seven thousand dollars on food throughout the year. Also, consumers visited grocery stores between one and three times per week. This is a significant amount (Facts, 2018). Previously, mothers did grocery shopping in households and had their favorite shopping stop. Now, families are doing co-shopping, where fathers and children do shopping.

Previously outlets like supermarkets designated a part of their store for selling groceries. Since space was limited, they offered fewer commodities and mostly the most common groceries. Later, there emerged chains of business exclusively dealing with groceries. The shops offered more a variety of fresh produce and became favorites for shoppers. They also served as a one-stop shop for grocery shopping, which was convenient for customers at the time ("The state of the grocery shopper in 2017", 2018). However, with an increase in use for information technology, e-commerce becomes a more convenient option for grocery shopping. Today, grocery shops in the United States are increasingly selling their products online.

Discuss How Changes in Grocery Stores Online and Offline, May Impact Consumer Shopping Experience.

In today's fast-moving environment, convenience in time and money is a necessity to customers. What the consumers need in groceries is fresh produce, that is less pricey and readily available. Since most families shop at least once per week, the shoppers also want to minimize the time spent at the stores. The sale of grocery has evolved from sale in a designated part of the market or supermarket, to exclusive grocery shops and recently online selling. These changes suit customer tastes and preferences thus enhances customer experience. Customers use less time shopping and at the same time get value for their money. Delighting customers improves customer loyalty, hence increased sales for the stores.

Elaborate the Fulfillment/Supply Chain Challenges Supermarkets Are Facing to Meet the Needs of E-commerce Customers.

Supermarkets are facing supply chain challenges in meeting the needs of e-commerce clients. Due to technology, retailers must align their operations to meet consumer needs. However, the supply chain is not changing as fast as it should. The production and distribution systems in supermarkets are in line with traditional retail operations. Thus, the retail outlets are facing problems in distribution since their systems are more linear and less dynamic. Also, they are experiencing issues in inventory management. Retailers may be unable to meet customers demands with the same supply chain effectively. Therefore, supermarkets need to change their operations to adopt a more flexible distribution network.

In Chapter 5 on Pages 276 and 277, There is an Article Entitled Insight on Society: Equifax: Really Big Data Hacked. According to the Article, Why Was This So Significant?

Equifax stored an extensive database of personal private information in their database. According to the article, Equifax held personal data for many American citizens. The data includes names, date of birth, social security numbers, addresses, payment history and records among others. The company`s failure to safeguard the information by not enhancing the necessary control contributed to the hack. This was a breach of privacy to the customers and Fair Credit Reporting Act (1970. Customers information was in the hands of unauthorized people who could use it for identity theft.

Name at Least Two Other Large Data Breaches (Either in the Text of Outside of It) and Briefly Describe Why They Were Significant.

Phishing. This is an attempt to obtain personal information like usernames, passwords, personal identification information, banking among others by someone posing to be a legitimate official. If a person discloses the data, the impersonator uses it in the pretense of being the owner.

Spyware. This a software that copies information from someone's computer for unlawful use. The owner may not detect the device. The hackers then transfer the data to another location through the internet.

References

Facts, U. (2018). Topic: Food Shopping Behavior. Retrieved from https://www.statista.com/topics/1527/food-shopping-behavior/

The state of the grocery shopper in 2017. (2018). Retrieved from https://www.retaildive.com/news/the-state-of-the-grocery-shopper-in-2017/433815/

Thomas, B., & Simmons, G. (2010). E-commerce adoption and small business in the global marketplace. Hershey, Pa: Business Science Reference.