Swine Flu Outbreak; Not an Epidemic…Yet
The Today Show, NPR, CNN, Fox News: they’re all talking about the Swine Flu outbreak. President Obama calls for the country to be alert not alarmed. So how does this affect the grocery retail business? At this moment, you’re probably going through your contingency plans, just to make sure they’re up to date and ready to be activated. Is your online grocery business in those plans?
Because people will still need to eat, but won’t want to go out in public any more than is necessary should this reach epidemic proportions, your online grocery operations will become immensely important. And busy. And probably not a little stressed. So what can you do?
First, ensure you’re well staffed through the situation. This may be a tough task and will be dependent on local means of handling the issue (hours of operation, curfews, etc.) put in place by local governments to protect the general public. So do your key employees (those who will still be at work) know how to fulfill orders? Are you able to quickly add staff to the personal shopper ranks? Now is a good time to ensure you don’t have any gaps in training.
Second, add slots. You can expand the number of orders you allow during an hour and/or extend the number of hours you offer pickup and delivery. Certainly your staffing level will dictate what you can and can’t do. That’s why your response to the first item above is so important.
If this reaches epidemic level, our expectation is that people will use online shopping more than ever, and that spike could happen very quickly. Rest assured, we’re prepared to help you with the services you need from MyWebGrocer.
We can add slots to existing stores (be they pick up or delivery) quickly and efficiently. We just need the information from you. And for chains that already have online grocery stores up and functional, we can very quickly add new stores to your mix. If you’re a chain without online grocery services, it’s a longer process, but we can do a lot for you, too. Just call us and let us know what you’re looking to do.
So keep washing your hands, eating well, and generally taking care of yourselves. With any luck, this will remain what it is today — an outbreak that makes for a good news story. But know that if it gets a lot worse before it gets better, we’ll be here to help you serve your customers!
– Scot
