A platform to take orders on premises and online

[JayJethwa]

I am doing research on developing a platform that takes orders at premises and connects users with local business, allowing them to order online for delivery or pickup, a product built from ground up to provide a complete integrated solution which doesnt work only for restaurants but can used across multiple industries i.e. wholesale, hardware stores, auto parts, electricals etc. I recognize a substantial market opportunity, I seek expert opinions to further refine and validate this initiative. Any insights or advice you could provide would be highly valuable.

 

[Shopclicks]

I have seen this before and sorry but it doesn't work. Businesses with a website and a stock feed don't need you and businesses without a website won't be interested in creating a feed for you. If you think they may upload products to your platform manually, they won't.

There was a site and app called Shopappy which looks like it has now folded.

The two main problems would be getting businesses involved and marketing your platform. No audience, no businesses. No businesses, no audience.

 

[fisicx]

@JayJethwa - start by looking for problems then provide solutions. You seem to be coming up with ideas then trying to find a market. It’s the wrong approach.

 

[JayJethwa]

I have seen this before and sorry but it doesn't work. Businesses with a website and a stock feed don't need you and businesses without a website won't be interested in creating a feed for you. If you think they may upload products to your platform manually, they won't.

There was a site and app called Shopappy which looks like it has now folded.

The two main problems would be getting businesses involved and marketing your platform. No audience, no businesses. No businesses, no audience.

Would be interesting to know why Shopappy folded.

 

[Shopclicks]

Would be interesting to know why Shopappy folded.

Shopappy got some traction through publicity. So they had plenty of small businesses signing up and adding products. So you could search based on your town and get results from local businesses. The problem they had was getting those products in front of buyers. Basically, what they were trying to do could have been called 'eBay for local business'. But they didn't have the traffic that eBay has. If you were going to take the time to upload your products, you are more likely to sell them by listing on eBay.

The concept of making it easy for businesses to get online is a flawed concept. There is no easy way to get online unless you can automate the process. If you can automate the process, you are far better off selling through your own website, than paying to sell them on a platform which has no traffic.

A local tech company was given a £100k grant to develop the same concept with the aim of helping small businesses recover after Covid. It was going to be specific to our town as a test marketplace. It was called Hyperlocal. They got a product feed from Sainsbury's. And that's all they got. They folded after about a year. It was seen as too much trouble to be bothered with by local retailers. They would rather have people walk into their shop to buy.

 

[Mark T Jones]

1. Find a problem, solve the problem.

2. Find a market, build something to appeal to that market.

3. Build a product, go Find a market

Which do you think is easiest/hardest?

 

[JayJethwa]

Shopappy got some traction through publicity. So they had plenty of small businesses signing up and adding products. So you could search based on your town and get results from local businesses. The problem they had was getting those products in front of buyers. Basically, what they were trying to do could have been called 'eBay for local business'. But they didn't have the traffic that eBay has. If you were going to take the time to upload your products, you are more likely to sell them by listing on eBay.

The concept of making it easy for businesses to get online is a flawed concept. There is no easy way to get online unless you can automate the process. If you can automate the process, you are far better off selling through your own website, than paying to sell them on a platform which has no traffic.

A local tech company was given a £100k grant to develop the same concept with the aim of helping small businesses recover after Covid. It was going to be specific to our town as a test marketplace. It was called Hyperlocal. They got a product feed from Sainsbury's. And that's all they got. They folded after about a year. It was seen as too much trouble to be bothered with by local retailers. They would rather have people walk into their shop to buy.

Interesting, thanks for the insight. I know it’s going to be challenging. I'm in charge of the initial setup and aiming to form a collaborative and tight-knit team of marketing and sales specialists who share a common vision. Our objective is to streamline costs, allowing us to pass on savings to customers and stand out from competitors. Our main focus is on delivering a premium product that provides exceptional value for money.

1. Find a problem, solve the problem.

2. Find a market, build something to appeal to that market.

3. Build a product, go Find a market

Which do you think is easiest/hardest?

I think none of them are easiest, but I would say combination of 1 and 2. There needs a demand but also one that solves business problems.

 

[JayJethwa]

Shopappy got some traction through publicity. So they had plenty of small businesses signing up and adding products. So you could search based on your town and get results from local businesses. The problem they had was getting those products in front of buyers. Basically, what they were trying to do could have been called 'eBay for local business'. But they didn't have the traffic that eBay has. If you were going to take the time to upload your products, you are more likely to sell them by listing on eBay.

The concept of making it easy for businesses to get online is a flawed concept. There is no easy way to get online unless you can automate the process. If you can automate the process, you are far better off selling through your own website, than paying to sell them on a platform which has no traffic.

A local tech company was given a £100k grant to develop the same concept with the aim of helping small businesses recover after Covid. It was going to be specific to our town as a test marketplace. It was called Hyperlocal. They got a product feed from Sainsbury's. And that's all they got. They folded after about a year. It was seen as too much trouble to be bothered with by local retailers. They would rather have people walk into their shop to buy.

My understanding is, it requires local contact to provide initial setup with the combination of both manual and automating tools.

 

[JayJethwa]

@JayJethwa - start by looking for problems then provide solutions. You seem to be coming up with ideas then trying to find a market. It’s the wrong approach.

This seams to be the way forward.

 

[Paul Carmen]

@JayJethwa Here are the main questions you need to answer:

1. How does this differ from Amazon & eBay?
2. How will you get local businesses signed up?
3. How will you generate enough traffic to make it worthwhile for them?

 

[JayJethwa]

@JayJethwa Here are the main questions you need to answer:

1. How does this differ from Amazon & eBay?
2. How will you get local businesses signed up?
3. How will you generate enough traffic to make it worthwhile for them?

Small businesses can change and adopt a lot quicker then big businesses and offer products at very competitive rates, so this will be one sticking factor, as for generating enough traffic will take time as you build-up awareness and more and more businesses start switching. Valid points, I need to delve a bit deeper into this.

 

[fisicx]

Despite a lot of promotion (and often money) these sort of schemes are very difficult to launch and sustain.

You are far better off investigating existing platforms and offering extensions, addons, plugins and enhancements. That way you are utilising existing systems.

For example, a tool that connects shopify to a retail POS.

 

[Shopclicks]

Small businesses can change and adopt a lot quicker then big businesses and offer products at very competitive rates, so this will be one sticking factor, as for generating enough traffic will take time as you build-up awareness and more and more businesses start switching. Valid points, I need to delve a bit deeper into this.

This is like saying you're going to build a better eBay. Somebody already did. It's called Amazon. You're about 20 years late to the party. Eliminate the barrier between bricks and mortar shops and the online space and you'll be on a winner. It's not this.