FreshDirect is popular among customers for doorstep delivery of fresh grocery items. The team FreshDirect sources directly from an expanded network of farms, suppliers, and fisheries to bring the products right to the customers by cutting down the grocery store (supply-chain) time in half. 

The company was founded by former Fairway Market CEO Joe Fedele and Jason Ackerman in 1999, and with each passing year, the company has witnessed an increase in the number of customers. 

How FreshDirect Works?

FreshDirect is known for its next-day doorstep delivery services. The business model is based on providing home delivery of grocery items to customers in the areas in NYC.  

As a customer,  the process to place the order in FreshDirect is simple:

  1.  Visit the website
  2.  Add grocery items to your cart
  3.  Confirm your order and proceed to pay
  4.  After the order is accepted, wait for your delivery to arrive 

Why Launch an On-Demand Grocery App Like FreshDirect?

People nowadays prefer to order groceries online using the mobile applications of FreshDirect and Instacart.

Earlier, the easy availability of items was the reason why people preferred to order groceries online. But now, due to the pandemic, safety is the major reason behind the high demand for online grocery delivery businesses like FreshDirect.

Must-have Features to Build a Platform like FreshDirect

As an entrepreneur, if you are planning to build a platform like FreshDirect, you need to know about the necessary features. 

Here is a list of some must-have features to build a platform like freshdirect:

For Admin:

  1. Product Catalog System

The product catalog system helps the admin to manage the list of products, inventories, categories, and other product-related information in an effective manner. 

  1. Delivery Staff Management

As per the Freshdirect business model, the delivery of the items is managed by the company/admin itself. From driver selection to OTP registrations all can be managed with the help of this feature.

  1. Multiple Revenue Channels

Commission, subscription, advertisement, affiliate partnerships, and featured listings are some great ways to earn revenue from a grocery delivery platform like FreshDirect.

  1. Advanced Reports & Statistics 

To keep a track of the performance of your business is always a need. The advanced reports & statistics make it easy for the admin to get clear insights about the overall performance of the online grocery business.

  1. Advance Order Management System

The advance order management system helps the admin to manage the flow of the orders received, delivered, or canceled.

  1. Multiple Payment Options 

Multiple-payment opinion is a must-have feature of an online grocery delivery business like FreshDirect. Multiple payment options make it more convenient for the shopper to shop on your grocery website/app.

For Customer:

  1. Account Registration

The basic feature that any grocery delivery platform like FreshDirect 

(must) has for its customers is easy to account registration. Direct login options like login with Google or Facebook make it easy for a customer to create an account.

  1. Delivery Tracking 

Your buyer’s app should be efficient enough to provide order tracking.

  1. Order Cancelation 

FreshDirect provides the customers with the option to change, reschedule, or cancel an order at any time before the order cutoff deadline indicated on the email sent for confirmation. 

COVID-19 Must-Have Features for A Business Like FreshDirect

Due to the current pandemic, the safety of the customers as well as the delivery agent is the top priority for grocery delivery businesses like FreshDirect. 

To abide by the new norms, there are various features introduced by online grocery delivery platforms like Growcer to keep up with the customer’s expectations and the smooth operation of the business. 

  1. Contactless Delivery

The feature “touchless” is offered by FreshDirect which means the delivery boy will leave your order at the customer’s doorstep.

FreshDirect has also encouraged the e-tip system due to the COVID-19 norms of avoiding direct contact.

  1. Digital Payment Options 

Before the pandemic, the cash-on-delivery payment option was a popular payment method. But after the pandemic to avoid any direct contact between the delivery agent and the customer, digital payment options are becoming new normal.

  1. Delivery Scheduling

Due to the sudden increase in the number of orders received each day delivery time slots are filling up faster than usual. Platforms like FreshDirect have given the option to book your delivery time slots in advance to manage the order delivery. 

Setting up Grocery Delivery Business like Fresh Direct

By now, we are well aware of the increase in demand for online grocery delivery services. If you as an entrepreneur are planning to start an online grocery delivery business like FreshDirect, you can consider Growcer, a grocery eCommerce platform by FATbit Technologies.