Fast delivery company Wolt is opening a grocery store, and thereby competing with the chains that use it for deliveries. More than 10% of Wolt’s deliveries are currently in the retail category, rather than from restaurants.
Wolt aims to expand its market share in retail deliveries, in line with the global trend of fast delivery of groceries. Unlike online orders from retail chains, which can take two days to be supplied, orders via fast delivery services can be delivered within an hour. Moreover, these deliveries can now include heavy items and regular family grocery orders, and are not limited to a few small supplementary items.
Wolt Market, which is located adjacent to the company’s logistical center in Eilat Street in Tel Aviv, offers thousands of products in various categories. It is not open to the public, but serves as a "dark store", that is, a store to supply deliveries and collections. At this stage, delivery is offered in central Tel Aviv, and costs NIS 10-20. The minimum order is NIS 50. The company plans to open additional such centers around Israel. Delivery time is estimated at 30 minutes.
In 17 of the 23 countries in which Wolt operates, it has set up similar centers. In its home country, Finland, retail deliveries account for a larger share of its business than elsewhere.
For all the optimism about the fast delivery market, it should be recalled that Israeli groceries delivery company Avo recently laid off two thirds of its employees and shut down its Israeli operation. Avo’s operating model is based on consolidated group deliveries to locations such as offices and residential buildings, with the aim of cutting logistics costs, but after the Covid-19 pandemic waned demand for the company’s service declined, as it has for other delivery companies around the world.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on June 1, 2022.
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