How to Start an Online Grocery Store in India ? – 3

Guide to Sell Grocery Online – 3

Costs involved

It all eventually boils down to money! It is not possible to set up any store without having a clear idea of the total costs involved. Although an exact figure cannot be reached at the initial stages, a close approximation can definitely be made.

The costs involved in setting up franchise grocery store can broadly be divided into:

Initial investment
Running costs

Initial Investments

Initial investments are usually high and are often considered one time investment towards, having a basic setup such as office/warehouse building, setting up a website and developing mobile app, hiring staff, purchasing vehicles required for delivery, stationary (boxes, covers with logos, etc) and marketing. The magnitude of the setup usually determines the amount of initial investment.

The initial investment also varies with the type of franchise store planned. While a ‘dealer direct’ model would involve lesser cost as you would not require several aspects such as a warehouse, inventory, delivery vehicle (and delivery staff), etc, the ‘warehouse model’ would require a higher investment to set up a warehouse, maintain inventory, and buy/hire delivery vehicles and staff.

If you are already experienced in this field, then you should go for the warehouse model as it is a more reliable model and you would have maximum control on the operability of the franchise store. If you are venturing into it for the first time, then it is preferable to follow the dealer direct model initially and then move towards warehouse model once you understand the nuances of the trade.

Running Costs

Simply put, these are the costs involved in maintenance of the setup on a day-to-day basis; which may need to be paid on a daily/weekly/monthly/annual basis. Some of the common examples include the cost involved in acquiring packing materials, salary for the staff, monthly rental (EMI in case of loans), upgrading software/website/app, utility payments, etc. The overall running costs again vary with the type of model adapted. Warehouse model would incur higher running costs when compared to dealer direct model.

For ensuring a smooth running of the online grocery store, it is highly important to calculate both initial and running costs, as accurately as possible. It should also be noted that you should have enough funds to cover the running costs for the next 3-6 months irrespective of the turnover.

If you have any queries regarding this article or if you want to start your own grocery store please drop a comment or e-mail [ support@shopnix.in ] or call us @ mob: 08880788813 / 080 – 41304166 .