Product data models for online grocery shopping
Groceries come in all shapes and sizes, and in all weights and measures. Watch our quick video to demonstrate how the digital basket has room for everything, and how the customer can personalise their shop through your product data.
When implementing a grocery delivery strategy, it is important to think about customer vs. product requirements and how this affects your data models.
Price by the item or the weight
Most items in grocery stores are sold by the item or the piece, such as a loaf of bread. This is a relatively simple task for an online system where customers can choose the item, click on it and then add it to their cart. Sometimes shops also need to be able to show the price per amount as well, such as weight e.g. € per kilo. When buying bananas, for example, customers buy by the item but pay by the weight so it is necessary to take this into account when creating a product data model.
Price Changes
Another important consideration is any expected price changes between the time of the order and the time of the delivery. For example, if the fruit that a customer has ordered ended up being heavier than expected, then the final price will need to change. You should keep this mind in the pick-pack process and payment stage, reminding customers that the price will be determined by the weight.
The Deli Counter
When selling fresh cuts of meat, customers will order by the weight and by type of cut they would like. This data goes to the deli counter where they can then prepare the product to the customer’s specifications. As such, if you would like to move away from direct price comparisons, it might be a good idea to integrate meat counter and deli specifications into the online shopping process too.
Other fees
When thinking about deposits on certain products, such as plastic bottles, it is a good idea to define the fee type and show this separately in the cart. This means that your products are not made to look more expensive than they are, and customers can see exactly what they are paying for.
Meal kits
Meal kits use purchase data to identify sets of products that your customers will want to buy together. A meal kit allows the customer to add these products to their cart with one click, improving the buying process and the customer experience.
Product data modelling is an important part of an online grocery business. If you are thinking of selling groceries online and would like to know more, please get in touch here.
