The Future of Grocery Shopping? A Taxonomy-Based Approach to Classify E-Grocery Fulfillment Concepts

Abstract

In order to cope with competition and sustain business performance within a digital environment, grocery providers need to identify and establish suitable fulfillment models. During the last two decades, a huge amount of fulfillment concepts has emerged, emphasizing different focus points. With this contribution, we aim to structure the field of e-grocery fulfillment and support retailers in choosing or refining profitable fulfillment models. Based on a systematic literature review and several fulfillment instances, we developed a taxonomy with 20 dimensions and 61 characteristics. Subsequently, a cluster analysis was employed to identify six concept archetypes, serving as useful basis for digital grocery business. Ultimately, our results provide a foundation for both academia and retail to advance the knowledge of e-service fulfillment models.

Spatial organisation of the new forms of e-grocery and ready-made food trade in a large Russian city

“…By the end of 2020, the network had 108 dark store warehouses in St Petersburg, compared to 59 in March 2020 21 . At the same time, the traditional retail leaders, Magnet and Dixi, which merged in 2021, had four times as many stores each 22 . The total number of kiosks and pavilions competing with them in the city is estimated at 3,000-4,000 [16].…”

Simulation-based Assessment of Grocery Shopping in Urban Areas

“…Simulation Approach Logistical Impact [6] MM CB [7] LR CO [10] LR CO [11] CS FD [12] SM EI [13] MM EI [15] CS EI [20] LR EI [21,23] CS/SM P [23] SM FD [24] DS/SM DSS [25] MM EI [26] SU/SM DSS [27] LR CO [28] SM EI [29] MM DF [30] CS FD [31] CS FD [32] DS PS [33] SM DSS [34] LR FD [35] CS CO [36] DS/SM DSS [37] MM DSS [38] CS FD [39] MM FD [40] LR/CS CO Consideration: = full ; = partial ; = no consideration…”

“…Moreover, this approach aids in investigating and examining the impact of future mobility trends such as vehicle electrification [8] and convergence of mobility and logistics [9] on the ecological value of e-grocery as well as stationary grocery shopping. Hence, this publication aims to provide a conceptual simulation framework that is capable of comparing stationary shopping and e-grocery, whereby the latter will be examined by means of home-delivery operations from a food fulfilment center, as this is a prevailing and most common business model for online grocery provision on an international scale [10,11].…”

“…While hybrid delivery concepts (e.g., Click and Collect) are increasingly gaining importance on an international scale, they are not (yet) operated by the major German retailer that serves as reference and validation object for our simulation study. Similarly, returns in the simulated operation model are handled in terms of reception checks, meaning that deliveries are checked upon the delivery reception and, if necessary, returned directly with the delivering carrier [10]. Accordingly, return operations do not result in additional transportation activities or traffic loads and will not explicitly be considered in this study.…”

“…It can be expected that the location of the respective fulfilment center has a major impact on delivery vehicle mileages in various e-grocery scenarios, which should be examined through simulated sensitivity analyzes. In addition, the simulation approach can be used to analyze the role of different time windows in the operational performance of e-grocery deliveries as well as various national and international fulfilment concepts, as highlighted in [10] (e.g., Click and Collect, grocery deliveries by parcel service providers). Moreover, in line with current and future mobility trends, the role and impact of private and commercial vehicle electrification as well as shared mobility concepts in terms of sustainable operations and emission outputs should be assessed.…”