“
Shoppers
” to do your shopping for you in-store: this is the concept offered by the new Ok Market platform! launched on September 20 by Carrefour. On the app, customers first choose the products from their shopping basket, from their sofa. They can also mention preferences for each product purchased, such as baking for baguettes, maturity for fruit or even softness for cheese. Then, a "
shopper
" is responsible for
putting
together the package in the store. Once finalized, the order is sent to a delivery person who brings it home by electric bike. Delivery time announced by the brand: 3 hours maximum.
Platforms of this type already exist in the United States, where Instacart is experiencing tremendous growth, for example, thanks to its “shoppers”, but for France this is a great first.
“
The offer is based on three consumer expectations: the possibility of having access to fresh products in delivery, increasingly tight delivery times, and access to personalized service
” explains Élodie Perthuisot Executive Director of e-commerce and digital transformation of the Carrefour group, at
Le Figaro
.
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On the platform, fresh cut products (bakery, butcher, fishmonger, cheese dairy, etc.) are thus available, which is not the case for traditional delivery.
Customers can also specify their preferences and contact the “
shopper
”
directly
, to point out an oversight or to validate substitute products in the event that a reference is unavailable.
For now, the price of this personalized delivery is set at € 6.90.
Something to delight those in a hurry for whom shopping is a waste of time, or those who have been invaded by Sunday night laziness.
Bring together all the neighborhood merchants on the same marketplace
In France, the service is first tested in three Parisian stores and one Lyon store, but it has already proven its worth in Romania where it represents 46% of the e-commerce market, according to a statement from the group. The platform was also made available in four Belgian cities and in Buenos Aires in Argentina.
Ultimately, Carrefour hopes to be able to make its application a marketplace listing all the merchants in the neighborhood.
The “
shoppers
” could then go to the florist or the wine merchant in addition to doing your shopping at the supermarket.
No more back and forth between neighborhood merchants: the future of the shopping basket is on smartphones.
In Romania, the application is already connected to more than 2,500 stores including “
350 pharmacies, florists, wine merchants and toy stores
” explains the group.
Fast grocery delivery whets appetites
If the French brand ensures the development of the platform internally, it calls on two partners to carry out the logistics.
It is therefore employees of Stuart and Cogepart, companies specializing in delivery, who will take care of preparing and delivering the orders.
The "
shoppers
" are a priori employees but "
it is up to Stuart and Cogepart to take care of the management of their human resources
", explains Élodie Perthuisot.
The service is therefore less uberized than that of Instacart in the United States, but there is no guarantee that it will remain so.
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While the battle for home grocery delivery is raging in major cities, this platform is an opportunity for Carrefour to pull the rug out from under delivery applications. The French group had already shown its interest in rapid delivery by investing in Cajoo, and by offering the start-up access to its purchasing center. Ok Market! however marks a new positioning. For Élodie Perthuisot, “
quick commerce for emergency shopping and personal shopping are two different segments
”. The brand intends to democratize, thanks to its platform, the rapid delivery of weekly groceries, with an average basket of around 80 euros. "
Today c 'is the race for the one who will manage to find the right formula for the customers
»Summarizes the e-commerce director of Carrefour.
It remains to be seen whether French consumers will be fond of these à la carte services.
