Mobile Grocery Store Business

Mobile Grocery Store Businesses continue to exist and even thrive in the age of e-commerce and online grocery delivery services. They primarily cater to areas that are not served by brick and mortar grocery stores, e-commerce retailers and online delivery services. They primarily serve areas where the grocery suppliers cannot justify operating costs.

The Japanese Model

Are mobile grocery store businesses profitable? Rather than asking this question we rather should ask: WHERE are mobile grocery stores profitable? A saw a YouTube video of a Japanese mobile grocery store business. The title of the video is RISING - Deals on Wheels: Mobile Supermarket Innovator - Tatsuya Sumitomo and answers this question.

The story concludes that this type of business thrives in mostly rural areas. They mobile grocery store business serve the seniors who cannot go out far from their homes anymore. The mobile grocery drivers also benefit from their jobs. They earn more and are less stressed compared to the jobs they did before.

So how does this Japanese mobile grocery business model work? The drivers go to the supermarkets first thing in the morning to get their normal groceries. They also try to remember what the seniors like to order and what they think the seniors would like to buy. They get this from the supermarket and drive to the home of the seniors afterwards.

After they finish their rounds they go back to the supermarket to return any unsold merchandise and repeat the process all over again. The drivers usually have regular gatherings where they have drinks in a restaurant at the end of the day. The supermarket, the company, and the drivers split their profit between them.

It is a simple but profitable business. What I would like added though is a formal system where they get orders from the seniors so the seniors do not miss any groceries they might need. Since the seniors are practically isolated from grocery suppliers this is very important. Another good thing to add would be a simple communication system the seniors could use to order.

This is an effective business from Japan and as we can see it is simple to operate due to the fact that it does not use complex technology like the internet or even telephones to contact customers. It relies on personal contact with customers and is a simple logistics delivery business.

The Threat to This Business

If you are interested in this kind of business you should consider this question: What is the difference between this and the supermarket offering its own delivery service and replacing these independent drivers? You may find that one day your supermarket grocery supplier does not want to supply you with groceries anymore and is taking your customers. Beware this.

It is evident that you should not be overly dependent on a single grocery supplier like a single supermarket. You should for example have a different supplier for grocery items, meat, fruit and vegetable products. You should also preferably create supplier alliances with businesses who are so small they cannot provide delivery services.

Very soon however progress will reach even the most desolate areas such that e-commerce giants and big online grocery delivery services companies will be able to profitably serve these areas. But this is still a long way off and you can make good profits with underdeveloped and underserved rural areas as well as dying communities.

You Can Start Small

How can you start a profitable mobile grocery store business? Get a vehicle. Even a car will do. For example you can setup your family car to double as your mobile grocery vehicle. You can put your grocery items in small boxes and arrange them in your car. If your family needs to ride the car you simply remove the boxes. There are many travelling salesmen who do this.

You could also specially arrange your car trunk and its hood to be a dedicated mobile store. You can arrange your groceries in the trunk and also hang other groceries from the hood. This way you do not need to remove your groceries from the car when your family needs to ride the car. This is setup allows your buyers to see more of your merchandise and is more convenient.

It would be better if you will get a trailer next which is dedicated especially for your grocery merchandise. The advantage of a trailer besides you having more room to carry groceries is that you could use your trailer to carry advertising for your goods or for some other company. You can rent ad space in your trailer for extra income.

The reason I suggested you use your family car first before buying a big full fledged grocery vehicle like a van is because you first must develop your clientele before spending a lot of cash on the business which might fail due to a lack of customers. A cheap second hand car is all one needs to start in the beginning when you are not yet sure if the business will succeed.

But can you use a motorcycle instead? Yes, you can if you are really low on startup capital. You can get a motorcycle trailer so you can carry more groceries. You can start selling lighter and small in size groceries first and then proceed to bigger items once you get special orders.

Go Beyond Delivering Groceries

You can also offer other services like passenger and delivery transport services. Since you most likely have customers who have limited means to transport you can offer these services. You are a small logistics company that can transport anything. It is important that you carry goods both ways instead of just delivering groceries one way for maximum profit.

For example you can talk to nearby companies where you get your grocery supplies and ask them if they needed anything delivered to the places where you deliver/sell your groceries to. You can be their regular delivery person for small products they cannot deliver on their own maybe because they lack the resources or manpower to do it.

Conclusion

As can be seen a mobile grocery store business is more of a logistics or delivery service than a retail business. It is important is that you maximise the logistics services you offer between your point of origin and destinations to maximise your earning potential. You should start doing this even at the start of your business to establish a profitable route early.