This is a personal antidote that will exemplify what is taking place and how industries can be affected.
The world of groceries isn't something that changed a great deal. Even the giant Amazon was unable to radically change the nature of the business after the purchase of Whole foods.
Basically, we are still looking at an industry where people show up, fill their carts with what they need, go through the checkout, and head home. It was done like this for decades.
This is all about to change.
Grocery Delivery
Many stores are now delivering groceries. This is something that started in the United States a couple years ago. It is now picking up steam.
While this is a change, it is not the impact on the customer so much as what it does for companies.
Kroger is one of the largest supermarket chains in the U.S. They did something interesting in central Florida that epitomizes how the Internet is changing things.
It allows people to place their orders via an application. This is the norm these days as almost every major company has some type of app.
What is different is how Kroger is expanding.
They entered a new market without opening up a single store. Instead, they simply set up a warehouse. There is no in-store service available. All orders are placed through the applications and delivered to the residence.
From the warehouse, they will deliver anywhere within 90 miles.
The result is they could enter a new market for a fraction of the cost of what it would normally cost. Also, the ongoing operations are likely a great deal lower. Obviously, warehouse space is a lot less expensive than retail. At the same time, it is likely that the warehouse is heavily automated.
Disruption Takes On Many Forms
Is this disruption?
I am not sure it is considered at the level of disruption but it is changing the industry. The fact that people are more willing to buy groceries online is opening up a slew of possibilities.
One thing we can see this concept replicated. There really is nothing that is stopping other chains from doing the same thing. Each market could see a flood of new entrants if they duplicate what Kroger is doing.
There is no reason to believe others are not doing the same thing elsewhere.
We are seeing a change in shopping habits. Does this lead to other advancements such as drones? Perhaps.
What other innovations are we looking at? This is hard to tell. food is something that everyone needs so the demand is not going to disappear.
The digital world is changing everything. Even something as basic as food is getting upended.