Supermarket chains upgrading systems to meet online sales
The supply-chain disruption that we’ve been dodging is here now. And it’s here to stay.
Spread of the COVID-19 virus has created a record spike in demand for grocery and household products, as consumers prepare for weeks (maybe months) of curfew, public spaces closures, work from home etc. It’s true that any Sri Lankan business – least of all retail – wasn’t ready for this.
The business model of all firms has got disrupted because of the novel coronavirus which has really tested businesses here and around the world. “That presents a challenge for business to adapt. In this space, there is no doubt that the online retailing space will thrive,” an industry analyst said.
E-commerce platforms have seen a spike in orders on their platforms in Colombo over the past few weeks as people logged online to stock up on food and household products on concerns around the spread of COVID-19 infection and restrictions in public movement that have now been enforced.
An official of a retail chain noted to the Business Times that grocery deliverers are seeing as much as a 300 per cent increase in order volumes as supermarket chains and grocery stores are working hard to meet the demand. The virus tested out how agile and innovative businesses were to come out with a solution, Charitha Subasinghe, President – Retail, John Keells Group told the Business Times. Earlier Keells had 150,000 customers walking in daily to all the outlets. Online business was a mere 100 customers. They had an 18-year-old software for online servicing. “By 31st March we planned to roll out a new platform,” Mr. Subasinghe said noting that the company had foreseen the changing behaviour of customer purchasing. There was a shift in buying patterns during the past few years, he said noting that the company will enhance its omni-channel which is a multichannel approach to sales that seeks to provide customers with a seamless shopping experience, when they’re shopping online.
Now Keells has scaled up its operation. So much so that now they do 30,000 online deliveries daily.
Mr. Subasinghe foresees that buying behaviour will keep on changing even after the lockdown. “Beyond the lockdown life won’t be normal. There will be many constraints and shopping will change until a proper vaccination system is introduced and when each person can be checked for the virus,” he said.
During this time, it is likely that retail and consumer products in relation to essentials (e.g. groceries) will strive to keep supply lines moving. This is further evident with many retailers now relying on alternative methods such as limited deliveries during a given time to continue their business activities.
This short-term shift in consumer spending could sustain store sales growth through the market turmoil.