In times of the Corona pandemic, cohesion is more important than ever. With the temporary closures of non-essential stores, regional (retail) merchants are facing major challenges. Building or expanding online solutions are obvious solutions here. Regional online marketplaces like hallo altmark support traders in a fast and uncomplicated way – bringing business owners and customers together even in difficult times.
hallo altmark would like to present regionally produced products, in particular regionally produced food, online in addition to regional traders in an expansion of the online platform. This step will address the wishes of customers and regional producers alike.
During the course of the project by the project ORIENT and hallo altmark, the attitude of regional customers (resident in the district of Stendal and the Altmarkkreis Salzwedel) to the online purchase of regionally produced food was investigated. For this purpose, the project team conducted a user survey in the Altmark region. About 200 test persons participated in the survey. The age structure of the participants gives an idea of the target group of such a regional online marketplace: 65% of the people surveyed are younger than 35 and thus pick up a large part of Generation Y, the so-called “digital generation”.
34% of the survey participants have already gained experience in buying groceries online – predominantly non-perishable foods (pasta, sweets, etc.) and beverages were purchased online. In the group of those who have not yet acquired any experience with buying groceries online, again just under 62% of respondents can imagine buying groceries online.
As advantages to buy food on the Internet were predominantly mentioned: Not being tied to the opening hours of supermarkets or farm stores (60%), a time savings (45%), having to carry less (44%) and being able to place an order from anywhere (42%). The disadvantages of buying groceries online were overwhelmingly cited as: Not being able to view/inspect the groceries on site (78%), a time commitment to delivery (67%), and potential shipping costs (62%).
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The question about the intention to buy regionally produced food online was answered in the affirmative by 79% of the respondents. Among this group, shelf-stable foods (80%), fruits and vegetables (69%), and beverages (68%) would be preferred for possible online purchase. The market for a regional online shopping channel for food is accordingly available.
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hallo altmark would like to use these survey results to expand the expansion of the regional online marketplace close to the target group and make the online platform even more market-friendly. Stay tuned for the further development steps!