How to start a hyperlocal delivery marketplace

“Companies that invest more in digital transformation actually outperform their peers over time. These companies are more prepared for disruption, better able to monetize new digital channels, and better able to build a bigger user base. What’s more, this phenomenon exists regardless of industry.” - Geoff Cubitt

Have you ever spared a thought over the term ‘hyperlocal’ business? Or have you ever really wondered what it means? If not yet, hurry thinking about it, because the concept of a hyperlocal delivery marketplace is a thing that is here to stay.

On the other hand, if you have thought of going online previously, but have somehow time and again, or for some casual reasons refrained from putting that idea into practice, this blog is for you.

In fact, this blog in particular may interest all those foresightful concerns, who desperately want to make their business go online over a hyperlocal delivery marketplace but yet they are missing one of the most fundamental elements to do it. Voila! A hyperlocal delivery software or application for all hyperlocal needs.

ONLY THOSE WHO WILL RISK GOING TOO FAR CAN POSSIBLY FIND OUT HOW FAR ONE CAN GO.

What if I ask you to think about an aspect of online shopping/buying on Amazon or Myntra which pleases you the most?

It is perhaps the fact that you don’t have to care about the individual brands in there. Right? You can, by virtue of your free consumer discretion, select the product or merchandise of your choice based on the reviews, ratings, price, etc. provided therein.

A hyperlocal delivery marketplace similarly is an online multi-vendor marketplace that serves a local-within-local market too closely, or in an area that is considered to be small or too localized so much so that it successfully meets the needs of specific customers.

A hyperlocal business is essentially the one which is ‘something less than local.’ In other words, it is a small geographical area or a locality with a really specific demography. A striking feature of a hyperlocal delivery business model is that the entire supply chain is located pretty close to the seller as well as the buyer.

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1. Growing hyperlocal delivery business: Exploring the ‘bandwagon effect’

Since businesses cater to specialized geographical areas, a good hyperlocal delivery system facilitates extremely swift delivery of goods from the point of origin to the point of destination within a much shorter duration of time. This is one of the most striking merits of an efficient hyperlocal delivery system. The need for such a delivery system was felt worldwide when the covid pandemic hit us all and packed us back in our homes.

Though the idea of a hyperlocal marketplace already existed, its prevalence just grew manifolds during the pandemic. Few of the many reasons for its profound growth are- Hyperlocal Delivery Marketplace

• Contact less delivery
• Zero contact and effortless buying and payment options
• Growing demand of essentials/commodities to be delivered swiftly at the customers’ doorsteps
• Saves time and makes buying hassle free
• Wide array of products to choose from
• Offers great dynamism to the consumers
• Less shipping and transportation costs
• An effective platform for vendors to get noticed

Given the inherent prompt delivery nature of a hyperlocal business, these have become one of the most sought after go-to options for consumers worldwide.

The industry statistics are indeed overwhelming and leave a lot for prudent businesses to further explore the e-commerce hyperlocal industry and start making gains for themselves before it gets too late and the competition gets really intensified.

The following report on the growth of hyperlocal services market is a thing to be keenly observed and promptly taken note of.

On the basis of type, it has been segmented into food ordering, grocery ordering, home utility service, logistic service providers, and others. On the basis of nature, it is classified into goods delivery and utility services.

Region-wise, the market was analyzed across North America (United States, Canada and Mexico), Europe (Germany, Russia, France, the UK, Italy, and Spain among others), Asia Pacific region (India, China, Japan, Australia, South Korea, and rest of Asia Pacific), and LAMEA (The Latin America, Middle East and Africa).

According to hyperlocal services market analysis, on the basis of type, as can be seen in the above depiction, the home utility service segment accounted for the maximum share in the global market in 2019, and is expected to continue throughout the hyperlocal services market forecast period.

Similarly on the basis of nature, as can be seen in the line chart below, the goods delivery segment viz a viz food items, grocery, medicine and furniture, etc. was valued at around $608 billion in the year 2019 and is expected to grow up to a banging $2048.8 billion by the year 2027, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 20.7%. Hyperlocal Delivery Marketplace

So, as a capable yet curious business wanting to go hyperlocal, wouldn’t you think as to what has led to the whopping rise of such figures in the hyperlocal delivery business?

Such overtly transformed consumer choices and behaviour are majorly attributed to their hectic schedules, innovation in the services & instant solutions, improved mobile technologies, advances in connectivity, and increased urbanized population.

And, having known the reasons for it, would you think twice to join hands with an industry leading hyperlocal delivery partner? Business practicality says, you ‘would not’; and business foresight perhaps says, you ‘should not.’

Drawing heed from the above statistics and understanding the phenomenal growth that exists there, have you ever wondered as to how many businesses actually take the plunge of making way for themselves into such a marketplace?

Are you one among the futuristic businesses that want to get competitive by offering hyperlocal delivery solutions?

Has your business ever tried tying up with any of the leading hyperlocal delivery partners to run its operations?

If the industry experts’ opinions, feedback and statistics are anything to go by, there could be no better time for a business to go hyperlocal.

So, have you as yet geared yourself up to start a hyperlocal delivery marketplace business so as to provide a complete delivery solution or not?

Or do you still find yourself into the league of those apparently shy and impractical business houses who are always in a bit of shilly-shally when it comes to making bold business decisions?

Know that, launching a business is essentially an adventure in problem solving, and given the growing digitalization, would your business not like to embark upon a journey that is adventurous yet economically yielding?

If you ask me about my business thought of at least one half of a decade, if not a complete one, I would assert- “It is launching your business on a hyperlocal delivery platform and getting globally recognized.” The growing global e-commerce sales are a witness to the fact how the online cum hyperlocal delivery systems are growing abound and are one of the major contributors to e-commerce industry revenues.

Realizing that Covid-19 has seriously dented the world economy and the time to arrive can still be challenging, the e-commerce industry has yet, numerous reasons to be glad, one of which is the “hyperlocal delivery system” that has satisfied needs and wants of the customers globally and still continues to do so.

The emergence of hyperlocal delivery business models around the globe has revolutionized traditional business patterns at a progressive rate in the last few years. In the present time, the word ‘hyperlocal’ is the hottest buzzword in the on-demand e-commerce delivery industry. The customers, retailers, entrepreneurs, and the world economy – all of them have plethora of solid reasons to embrace and welcome the hyperlocal on-demand delivery model with open arms.

To capitalize on this transformation, far sighted businesses are teaming up with consummate software developing and user-friendly application providing businesses that have a flawless hyperlocal delivery system.

In the years to arrive, the quality of the software/application would distinguish the successful delivery businesses from their unsuccessful counterparts in this industry. To survive and thrive therein, a good business will require a robust admin panel, a versatile merchant application, an efficient customer tracking application, and a powerful delivery driver application. Beyond this, it should be backed by a comprehensive delivery management solution system.

2. Going hyperlocal: Acting too locally, but serving globally

As long as you are going to be thinking anyway, think big.

Before you embark upon a hyperlocal journey, there are a few peculiar characteristics of a hyperlocal business that must be borne in mind. These characteristics help your business gain mileage in the industry and enables you to become more futuristic and competitive than ever.

Since a hyperlocal delivery business software tends the coming together of three major parties- the merchant, the customer and the driver, following few characteristics as depicted via the diagram can be kept a note of prior to launching your business on a hyperlocal platform.

• The merchant application can offer you the following features so as to put you in a more commanding position than ever. The more versatile the merchant application is, the greater is the business command. These features are-
• Easy and hassle-free order management
• Easy and smooth order dispatch
• Detailed purchase/order statistics
• Detailed sales reports
• Order notifications to keep you updated
• Multiple account support
• Menu customization at your discretion, and
• Store availability controls

• The customer application, if it is good and a thoroughly worked out one, can provide an experience to the user which is inexplicable. The more feature packed an application is, the better and more enriching is the customer experience. Some of these features are-
• Live order tracking- So as to keep the customers updated with the whereabouts of their orders
• Radius-based search- So that you can get products in minutes from the nearest store.
• Seamless experience- So to provide the customer with a great experience and hence make them happy
• Smart product discovery- Helps to discover your product
• Order scheduling– In the event of you remaining busy, this feature helps you pre book your orders for tomorrow or for any other day within a week
• Push notification- To keep you posted
• Safety and security- To promote transactions and dealings which are safe and secure
• Accepts multiple modes of online payments- So that making payments do not become a big deal.

• The driver application lends great ease of use and smooth order deliveries free from unnecessary rough and tumble to the concerned drivers. Following features if loaded on the driver application can bring great gains for the business from the drivers’ perspective.
• Quick map navigation- For seamlessly accessing the locations
• Live order updates- To know the ordering history-changing every minute
• Detailed driver profile- So to make the drivers feel identified and more empowered.
• Monitor the earnings- To keep a record of how much you have gained
• Quick access buttons- So to avoid deliveries from getting delayed
• Order statistics- Provides a complete record of the orders
• Wallet- So that a proper account is maintained
• Help and support- So to eliminate all problems and grievances

Given the growing global acceptance and craze of hyperlocal delivery platforms, it is time for businesses to make hay while the sun is shining.

If a business takes heed of the above discussed aspects, it can move, without much surprise, from sub-locally segmented domestic markets to global markets in a short span of time and dominate the globally present hyperlocal delivery marketplace.

3. Things to take care of before launching your business on a hyperlocal platform

Prior to launching your business in a hyperlocal marketplace, following are few of the must-haves that you should keep in mind.

• Deciding upon what to sell: ‘What to sell’ is perhaps one of the most primary questions that you can ask yourself before going for a business launch. Unless your business figures out on the specialty of products and merchandise that it needs to make available, all the business exercises would be futile.
• Deciding on your target market: A target market, if figured out rightly and reached out effectively, can be the most predominating thing for a business, specially if it is an online one. A thorough and a well-classified market research can help you find out the right clusters of a target market to be catered to.
• Partnering with the right software company: Partnerships produce great synergistic effects. If done rightly, a robust software or a recognized application provider can bring substantial gains for a business.

4. Getting launched: Will your hyperlocal delivery software help you hit a home run?

Once you are done with ensuring and recognizing your products and merchandise and the target market, you ought to go ahead with making that right choice and moving a step closer to buying a robust product delivery software that can do all the work for you. By scheduling a meeting or getting a free trial of that hyperlocal delivery software your business wishes to buy, you can easily make out whether it is capable of providing those readymade delivery solutions to your business or not.

Once you find it fitting your businesses’ bill, the world is all yours to step forward into, and though it is not wishful thinking, but you can start getting dressed up to attend the success party that would inevitably be a banging one.

But while you dress up, try not to lose focus and keep working hard on the right set of business plans and strategies to serve the changing hyperlocal needs. As these needs evolve, so should you.

And, do not forget that a business’s success depends on its backbone, and not on its wishbone. Hyperlocal Delivery Marketplace