E-supermarket struggle with demand surge

Online supermarkets are currently so inundated with orders that deliveries can take up to a week.

As e-supermarket visitor numbers were low – albeit growing – before the coronavirus epidemic hit, most didn’t have the necessary infrastructure to deal with a threefold increase in orders in just a few days. The demand for storage space and delivery vehicles has shot up.

After placing orders at the five major online supermarkets (AB, Mymarket, Kritikos Easy, Caremarket and e-fresh) on Friday, Kathimerini was able to confirm that the earliest delivery date within Attica was next Wednesday, March 18; this concerned three out of the five retailers, while for the other two the orders were not deliverable before March 20 – with time restrictions too.

Some supermarkets note that deliveries could take longer than usual because of the increased demand over recent days. However, they also stress the protective measures they and their delivery teams have introduced.

The decision by many consumers to switch to electronic retailers due to fears of contracting the virus at brick-and-mortar stores has resulted in online orders soaring. However, delivery is not available for most areas in the country, as some e-supermarkets are only active in the capital.

Source: ekathimerini.com