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We have partnered with Tortoise, the remote-controlled sidewalk home delivery provider,  to offer an automated same day delivery solution for grocers.  Our platform will now offer this first-of-its-kind contactless delivery option to enable local grocers to provide a cost-effective and superb service to their customers. Grocers can build and manage their own catalog of inventory and leverage advanced fulfilment methods online within hours. With this collaboration, grocers can then expand their offering to include Tortoises’ teleoperated electric delivery cart.

“We are thrilled to be able to serve our community in an innovative way using the stor.ai and Tortoises’ solution,” said Mordi lalehzari, co-founder of Kosher Express. “The pandemic propelled us to move online and with the help of this unique offering, we efficiently rendered and executed an end-to-end solution that begins with placing an order online, continues with seamless fulfillment and ends with automated same-day delivery. We are thrilled to be able to provide our customers a simple and contactless shopping experience.”

A side-effect of the ongoing pandemic is a light speed shift in how mom & pops are adopting cloud-based technology and even robots.

Big grocery chains are booming, and a large part of that is expanded rollout of delivery and online ordering. So how are small grocers staying alive during COVID-19?

A whopping 50% of consumers are now shopping online, which means local grocers, often competing in the same markets for the same customers as big chains, have had to reinvent their services. But developers and service-providers are easing the transition for local grocers, and a growing set of early adopters are now benefiting from robust and easy-to-implement as-a-service tools that extend the same kinds of online shopping and even robotic delivery options being developed by big chains to mom & pops, allowing them to sidestep steep service charges associated with third-party delivery apps. Don’t be surprised if the quaint market down the street soon has its own cloud-based inventory management, ordering, and robotic delivery suite.

The sector is growing and evolving quickly. Two players in the local end-to-end digital commerce game, Self Point, an inventory management and online ordering platform, and Tortoise, which makes teleoperated delivery carts for local delivery, recently announced a partnership to try and corner the local grocery market with contactless door-to-door delivery. It’s stunning to think that capability is now available to small grocers, who in many markets may actually succeed in outpacing big chains with online grocery offerings.

“We are thrilled to be able to serve our community in an innovative way using the Self Point and Tortoises’ solution,” says Mordi lalehzari, co-founder of Kosher Express. “The pandemic propelled us to move online and with the help of this unique offering, we efficiently rendered and executed an end-to-end solution that begins with placing an order online, continues with seamless fulfillment and ends with automated same-day delivery. We are thrilled to be able to provide our customers a simple and contactless shopping experience.”

Using Self Point’s platform, grocers build and manage their own catalogue of inventory and leverage advanced fulfilment methods online within hours. Grocers can then expand their offering to include Tortoises’ teleoperated electric delivery cart, which is remote-controlled can carry over 100 lbs. of goods in modular containers. The cart has a range of 3 miles at a max speed of 7MPH. Like other robotic delivery suites, such as Starship’s parcel and food delivery robot, the container is unlocked upon arrival and the customer and the store are notified of the completed delivery.

“We are excited to enter into this collaboration with Self Point. Their advanced solution pairs perfectly with our remote-controlled carts as we share a common goal–to ensure grocers maintain control of their brand identity and customer loyalty,” says Dmitry Shevelenko, Co-Founder & President of Tortoise. “Self Point’s platform enables us to reach many local grocers, and we are thrilled to offer a safe, affordable and truly innovative way for people to receive their groceries. Together we guarantee that every touch point, from order to delivery, delights their consumers.”

We expect to see more point of sale and inventory management solutions merging or partnering with robotics developers as autonomous home delivery begins to take off in urban markets.

Read the article on ZDNet.com

eCommerce has grown in recent years to encompass everything from retail items to services, and groceries are no exception. As of April 12, Bain & Co. has reported a six percent increase in online grocery sales thanks to the global health crisis. This trend is also likely to continue long after the health crisis tides over, owing to the flexibility online shopping provides.

Of course, digital marketing is a necessary requirement for navigating this new landscape. Even for groceries that aren’t on board with eCommerce just yet, digital marketing is a necessary tool to expand customer bases and make your services more accessible. Below are a few key digital marketing tips for grocery retailers.

Share updated discounts and price reductions
Discounts are one of the best marketing tactics for any grocery store, and they’re also a great way to attract new customers. The constant updates on social media and other channels makes them the perfect platform to announce discounts and start countdowns to sales. As with in-person promotions, looking for a partner to offer certain discounts or promos means that you can leverage your partner’s social media presence too. Digital marketing also allows you to create engaging materials like interactive Instagram stories and Twitter polls to promote your discounts.

Hire a professional digital marketer
Modern marketing has a lot of facets and it can be difficult to learn everything on the job, especially if it’s not your forte. And with marketing such a key component to any company’s success, many will only hire those with an educational background on the subject. This is because marketing degree graduates spend a large part of their time dedicated to topics such as interactive and digital marketing, consumer behavior, product development, business policies, as well as statistics. Such education gives them a foundation in the strategic, financial, and operational sides of the industry — which is precisely why they’ve become so invaluable in today’s increasingly digital economy. And with most of today’s marketers going through university, even those just graduated will have expert knowledge. This means even a grocery retailer with a limited budget will be able to gain an employee with good marketing ideas. For instance, a digital marketer will help your team craft actionable content plans that you can implement across different platforms.

Focus on SEO
Having good Search Engine Optimization (SEO) practices will allow your brand to get to the top of search lists. This is an extremely useful marketing tactic considering that many users often rely on Google searches as a way to find reputable services. In connection to the previous point, a good marketing company can help you conduct a keyword search to determine what potential consumers are searching for (like “best grocery stores” or “fresh groceries near me”). From there, you can build your website’s content pages based on such keywords. Indeed, building your website to create relevant content can help search algorithms display your site as a reputable search item: think recipe posts, helpful shopping guides, and more.

Encourage engagement
One of the best things about digital marketing is that you’re able to interact with your customers in real-time. Many of your customers are on social media, with the comments section as a common place to air out concerns or give suggestions to the company. It’s important to constantly engage with these comments. Even doing something as simple as saying ‘thank you’ for a nice comment shows that your company values customer engagement. That said, social media shouldn’t be your only recourse to talk to customers: if needed, you can also send a quick comment to redirect them to customer helplines for those with huge concerns.

We at stor.ai believe that the digital landscape provides ample room for grocery stores to innovate and grow their services. These digital marketing tips can help you grow your business tenfold and ensure your customer base remains strong.