5 Largest Third-Party Delivery Providers that are Empowering Grocers

Only once in the previous three decades—in 2011—have sales increased by more than 5% (YoY), according to an Incisiv-Wynshop Research Survey. Sales grew by more than three times the average yearly growth rate in 2020, to 9.5 percent. The increase in digital sales, which were up more than 5 times over 2019, was the primary force behind this expansion. 

As online grocery sales witnessed rapid growth as a result of the pandemic, grocery retailers were compelled to quickly adopt digital execution strategies. While eCommerce adoption is a key ingredient in satisfying the growing consumer demand, many independent grocers lack the right in-house technology to pull this off successfully.

As a result, many companies had to turn to third-party delivery platforms for rescue. Here, we bring some of these largest third-party delivery providers that are empowering companies in their pursuit of navigating this digital disruption: 

Instacart

Retailers can now use third-party delivery apps, courtesy of third-party delivery providers. Instacart is known to be one of the most renowned delivery service solutions. It has a strong management system for offering end-users delivery services for grocery stores, alcohol delivery, or supermarkets. Moreover, Instacart continues to flourish even as the pandemic comes to an end and shoppers are free to return to in-store shopping. 

FreshDirect

With more than 200,000 customers, FreshDirect markets primarily perishable goods from a warehouse based out of Long Island City, New York. FreshDirect has an incredibly effective fulfillment system that distributes more than a million things each week. Fresh Direct is also known for keeping its cost low and the food fresh.

Shipt

This third-party delivery solution, which is owned by Target Corporation, resembles Instacart in certain ways. Business owners now have a wider range of products owing to Shipt. Retailers may quickly monitor inventory, daily reports, and sales volumes using mobile apps when using this particular third-party delivery platform.

Burpy

In order to find the products that the customers want, Burpy, a same-day grocery delivery service, sends a crowdsourced shopper to the consumers' preferred local stores. Its mobile and web applications are easy to use and straightforward, but they are incredibly effective at matching customers with the ideal products. The customer can interact with the shopper as regularly or as passively as they desire using Burpy's proxy shopping system.

Postmates

Postmates delivers more than simply groceries, in contrast to the majority of supermarket delivery businesses. People can order anything in the city, and it will be delivered to them within an hour. It is also a popular app for ordering food online from well-known cafes and restaurants. The minimal delivery price that the business levies vary according to how far the individual delivering your purchase must travel.

There is definitely a role for third-party fulfillment services in the market. However, many experts advise against becoming too reliant on these third-party delivery solutions. Looking at the current scenario though, these mega giants in this space are not going to disappear any time soon. There is a pace and scale that is required, which only a select few big retailers can achieve without any external help. Others still need to rely on third-party fulfillment platforms to gain a competitive edge in the market.