Grocery apps focus on speed, service
New app Yeepeey promises to cut service fees and deliver in 45 minutes
With the ease in movement restrictions, consumers would simply prefer walking down to their nearby stores for small purchases.”
The price battles are now being fought on and by UAE’s e-grocery apps. A new one – Yeepeey – has launched, promising shoppers they can get the same prices and promotions offered at stores. “Yeepeey’s objective is to eliminate mark-ups and reduce service fees to a minimum or even free to give users the ability to stay home and order their essentials more frequently at in-store prices,” said a statement issued by it.
Prices and delivery times are all important for online grocery apps now that more shoppers in the UAE are quite comfortable with ordering in their daily/weekly needs.
Just recently, Carrefour confirmed launch of its quick service delivery, with the average time set at 60 minutes. As part of the launch, Carrefour Now will deliver free of charge until May 15 for a product range of up to 31,000 everyday items.
Monish Chandiramani | Yeepeey co-founder
Quick service delivery
Carrefour isn’t the only one – other delivery-focused apps such as Talabat have ventured out with their own ‘q-commerce’ – for quick – feature.
By “reducing” service fees, Yeepeey’s promoters expect to get backing from cost-conscious shoppers.
“Ordering basic essentials via an e-grocery app was way more expensive than buying it from the store itself,” said Monish Chandiramani, co-founder. “Even though the convenience plays a major role, consumers still don’t like to pay extra mark-ups over and above the prices displayed in the grocery stores in additional to the exorbitant delivery fee.
“With the ease in movement restrictions, consumers would simply prefer walking down to their nearby stores for small purchases,” he said.
Yeepeey’s formula
Yeepeey, was conceptualised after Chandiramani noticed he was spending more on the same amount of groceries when shopping through the e-grocery apps available then.
It’s more or less a similar situation with food delivery apps, with Careem and noon recently coming out with changes in the way they bill their restaurant clients on orders placed. What this means for the consumer is lower cost of ordering in a meal.
“Even in online, the same strategies used in physical retail will apply – more entrants will mean there will be pressure on what apps can charge,” said a restaurant operator.