If the year 2020 has taught us anything, it's how fragile life is. Not only have many lives been affected by the Corona Virus, perhaps someone you know, but many local and small businesses establishments as well. Those working in the restaurant and food industry have been hit very hard, in particular. If you were a restaurant or food establishment that had a drive thru window or delivery services in place during the outbreak, then you probably not only survived the economic downturn but thrived through it. if you did not have a delivery service, use a third party delivery service or have a take out window, then your business probably paid the price during the Corona outbreak. Lesson learned!
So, how relevant is it then that we are going to talk about evaluating delivery options for your frozen dessert store this month? Very relevant.
Booming Business. Prior to any of the COVID-19 drama started, the food delivery business was a booming business. Sixty percent of consumers ordered take out at least one time per week or more - and 31% percent of consumers used third party delivery services at least two times per week. That's a huge segment of the population getting food delivered to them as opposed to physically visiting a store. Digital ordering has grown 300% since 2014 and It's only going to increase.
Demographic. If you watched any of our content in the past then you've heard us mention the Millennial demographic. Millennials are the next big demographic to market your ice cream shop too. Why? Because as you know, Millennials don't leave the house. That's why over 57% of them use delivery services to get their food and meals delivered to them on a weekly basis. What's more, 59% of take-out and delivery orders received by restaurants are those (strictly) from the millennial demographic. To sum it up, Millennials rely on delivery. They are the new demographic to market to.
Sales. What about the connection between delivery and sales? Well, sixty percent of restaurant owners say delivery has increased sales incrementally. Restaurants that work with a delivery service have reported increasing sales by 10-20% in the last 2-3 years while working with a delivery service. Online phone orders and orders via apps have become a 38 billion dollar industry right under your nose. That's a huge number, and as a frozen dessert store, you need to take advantage or partner with one of these services.
The major players in the space include:
- Uber Eats
- Grubhub
- DoorDash
- Postmates
Partnering with one of the companies above allows you to take your product directly to your customer. Even though ice cream is a cold product with the potential to melt - delivery is used for both frozen foods and hot foods. The problem of keeping foods cold inside of a car has been solved a long time ago. If you are not taking advantage of this opportunity to provide your customers with your product at home, you're missing out on a huge opportunity to increase overall sales.
How do you do it? First, online ordering must be made easy and streamlined for the customer. If it is too complicated to figure out or they have to jump through hoops to get it to work, they will eventually give up and never place that order. Though you can make your own app or website extension to take online orders, you can also partner with one of the companies mentioned above. Each one of the third party providers mentioned have their own technology, streamlined for the customer and available to you right out of the box. Your shop could be delivering product to your customer by this evening.
Packaging and customer service. Just because the product is being delivered, doesn't mean the customer expects a dip on quality or service. Remember, it's still your brand. The packaging of your product, the quality of the product and your customer service must remain top-notch. Your packaging, that carries your brand will be more important than ever before. Make sure the packaging you choose for delivery can hold up in the journey and arrive at the customers door in a professional looking manner. Above all else, make sure the quality of your product meets your standards. Just because it is being delivered to the customer and not eaten in the store, the quality of the product should remain the same...top notch.
Pricing. Lastly, you need to think about pricing. Because you're delivering the product to the customer, it's an added service. You can charge a bit more for your product or charge for the delivery. However, you break it down this charge shouldn't be an extraordinary amount, perhaps within $5 of the product price. That little additional amount, multiplied multiple times over and over again will add up as more profit in the long run.
If you have any questions, concerns, comments or need help implementing any delivery options for your store, contact us. Create more sales, create more dollars, move more product and create more brand awareness for your frozen dessert store. The benefits of delivery are clearly obvious. If you're not delivering your product to customer right now, it's time to get on the train. All aboard.
