Caught in the city's fast pace of life, tedious commuting and long working hours, many consumers don't have the time to buy groceries or would like to avoid the chore.
After an initial reluctance, online shopping for vegetables and fruits is gaining popularity in the city. Thewww.bazaarfresh.in, an online fresh and exotic fruits, dry fruits and vegetables store, has made it a reality in the city.
A pioneer in the field which commenced operations in May 2017, the store now has more than 500 registered customers, and the numbers are growing. Its monthly turnover varies from Rs 2 lakh to Rs 3 lakh. With a small staff of 10, it operates from plot No 41, VIP Area, IRC Village, Nayapalli.
Three women entrepreneurs, Jyotriyeemayee Choudhury, Sandhyarani Mohanty and Itishree Panigrahi, have started the venture. They had no background in the business but learnt it on job. Now after these few months, they are satisfied with the response.
They say buyers are now quite comfortable ordering apparels, shoes, electronics, among other items, via online. With improving comfort with online payments, selling groceries online has become relatively easy.
The store makes deliveries in three clusters from 4.30 pm to 9.30 pm every day covering cluster one on Tuesday and Friday, cluster two on Wednesday and Saturday and cluster three on Thursday and Sunday. The delivery charge on order is over Rs 200.
Connecting with the new technologies and taking to the Digital India campaign, the entrepreneurs have made it possible for an order being paid through COD, online transactions like cards, Paytm.
“We buy vegetables directly from the market. Then, the products are sorted, graded, weighed, hygienically packed before being delivered to customers,” said Jyotriyeemayee Choudhury.
Asked why they took this initiative, they said that as people have to go to market to bring vegetables in rainy seasons being drenched, have to park vehicles, go to different shops and bargain. “Here, we provide fresh vegetables at affordable prices at the doorsteps.”
The cluster one includes Hansapal, Balianta, Satyavihar, Jharpada, JagannathVihar, Subhadra Nagar, Kesora, Tankapani Road and Samantarapur while the cluster two covers Raghunathpur, Kalarahanga, Patia, KananVihar, Sailashree Vihar, Niladri Vihar, Chandrasekaharpur, IRC Village and Madhusudan Nagar.
Areas like Dumuduma, Khandagiri, Kalinga Nagar, Ghatikia and Shampur, Ganga Nagar, Forest Park, Vivekananda Marg, Nageswartangi and Ravi Talkies come under the cluster three.
