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Keep in mind that you are a patron of a niche offering. I'm happy that it works well for you, but grocery shopping still sucks for the vast majority of shoppers

by rsbrown 15y ago

Keep in mind that you are a patron of a niche offering. I'm happy that it works well for you, but grocery shopping still sucks for the vast majority of shoppers in the United States. Ernie's aims to address that need.

DanielStraight 15y ago
I'm wondering on what you base the claim that grocery shopping sucks for the "vast majority" of shoppers. Honestly, I can't remember a single time in my life someone has complained to me about grocery shopping.
- rsbrown 15y ago
  I don't doubt you, but I've been doing market research, interviews, surveys and informal outreach for ten months straight on this issue. I assure you, in many markets, this is a serious pain point for consumers. Not everyone, though -- some people genuinely enjoy the grocery shopping experience. For them, the supermarkets will always be there.
- nolemonplease 15y ago
  I don't really hear people complain about grocery shopping either. But there are countless times where I've needed to do some serious grocery shopping, and I plainly just don't feel like going to the store. I've avoided the grocery store for weeks, because I just don't enjoy being there. And I'd rather spend that time doing other things. Which, is my problem, yeah, but if someone is offering a solution...
halostatue 15y ago
How much of it sucks because of grocery shopping in general vs. being in food deserts[1]? I also happen to live in the same place served by Grocery Gateway, but stopped using it years ago because the service fee increased and the selection decreased. On the other hand, I subscribe to the delivery of an organic vegetable basket every two weeks. Toronto is not a food desert by any means, with lots of fresh fruit and vegetable vendors on nearly every major street (where I live, there's three in close proximity; where I used to live, there were five or six). That said, I think the concept described here is very useful for a particular class of shopping: that which one would do on the way home from work. Yesterday, I had to pick some stuff up from one of our local stores on the way home (Planet Organic); my wife made the shopping list. If she had been able to make the shopping list directly with Planet Organic and I would have been able to just go pick it up without spending an additional ~25 minutes wandering around the (small) store, I would have been home about 40 minutes earlier than I was. One of the problems of modern grocery shopping is you're typically doing the shopping for at least a week at a time; Ernie's may allow your customers to shop for food more frequently in smaller batches, getting fresher produce every time. I'd push that concept forward. [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_desert http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_desert
- rsbrown 15y ago
  Excellent feedback, thanks for it. Your "quick stop on the way home from work" is our number one use case. I'm very happy it appeals to you. Regarding food deserts, Ernie's is a great way of addressing this issue and we are pitching a major regional supermarket chain about it.

by rsbrown 15y ago

DanielStraight 15y ago

I'm wondering on what you base the claim that grocery shopping sucks for the "vast majority" of shoppers. Honestly, I can't remember a single time in my life someone has complained to me about grocery shopping.

rsbrown 15y ago
I don't doubt you, but I've been doing market research, interviews, surveys and informal outreach for ten months straight on this issue. I assure you, in many markets, this is a serious pain point for consumers. Not everyone, though -- some people genuinely enjoy the grocery shopping experience. For them, the supermarkets will always be there.
nolemonplease 15y ago
I don't really hear people complain about grocery shopping either. But there are countless times where I've needed to do some serious grocery shopping, and I plainly just don't feel like going to the store. I've avoided the grocery store for weeks, because I just don't enjoy being there. And I'd rather spend that time doing other things. Which, is my problem, yeah, but if someone is offering a solution...

halostatue 15y ago

How much of it sucks because of grocery shopping in general vs. being in food deserts[1]? I also happen to live in the same place served by Grocery Gateway, but stopped using it years ago because the service fee increased and the selection decreased. On the other hand, I subscribe to the delivery of an organic vegetable basket every two weeks. Toronto is not a food desert by any means, with lots of fresh fruit and vegetable vendors on nearly every major street (where I live, there's three in close proximity; where I used to live, there were five or six). That said, I think the concept described here is very useful for a particular class of shopping: that which one would do on the way home from work. Yesterday, I had to pick some stuff up from one of our local stores on the way home (Planet Organic); my wife made the shopping list. If she had been able to make the shopping list directly with Planet Organic and I would have been able to just go pick it up without spending an additional ~25 minutes wandering around the (small) store, I would have been home about 40 minutes earlier than I was. One of the problems of modern grocery shopping is you're typically doing the shopping for at least a week at a time; Ernie's may allow your customers to shop for food more frequently in smaller batches, getting fresher produce every time. I'd push that concept forward. [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_desert http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_desert

rsbrown 15y ago
Excellent feedback, thanks for it. Your "quick stop on the way home from work" is our number one use case. I'm very happy it appeals to you. Regarding food deserts, Ernie's is a great way of addressing this issue and we are pitching a major regional supermarket chain about it.