Inside an independent grocer's decision to finally get online

Independent grocer Little Red Box, located in an area with few grocery stores in Houston’s East End, is going online with Grocerist, the retailer announced Tuesday.

Located in an area that lacks ready access to fresh, healthy and affordable food, Little Red Box wanted to change that not only with in-store shoppers at its store located at 3401 Harrisburg Blvd Suite G, but with omnichannel shoppers as well.  

Grocerist, an e-commerce solutions company for grocers built on Shopify, said it has powered Little Red Box’s new online store and digital marketing program.

“We’re really a plug-and-play solution for small- and mid-sized groceries to get online, own their own data, build customer relationships and ultimately grow their business,” Grocerist COO and co-founder Matt Smith told WGB.

Little Red Box chose Grocerist to power its first online store because Grocerist brought the grocery-specific features to the Shopify platform the retailer needed, including a modern customer experience, weight-based selling, powerful product substitution features, advanced pick/pack technology, flexible pickup/delivery scheduling and customer marketing services to grow their business, the grocer said.

On a broader scale beyond the walls of Little Red Box, Grocerist’s mission is to help digitize and modernize the independent grocery industry worldwide. 

“Grocer investments in digital must translate into profit and additional business value, and this is where we come in, to ensure e-commerce becomes a driver of growth and profit,” said Smith. “We are excited to work with Little Red Box to bring their store online. Grocerist provides all of the technology that independent grocers like Little Red Box need to succeed online and, equally important, our marketing team designs and executes for the grocer the email, social, search and in-store campaigns that drive business growth.” 

For online SNAP EBT, the company partners with USDA-approved third-party payments provider Forage, Smith told WGB. 

Forage is one of only three third-party payment processors authorized by the USDA for online SNAP transactions and works directly with grocers and platforms to make their services available to government benefits recipients.

Offering a digital channel is becoming a necessity, even for independent grocers. PYMNTS research has reported that 75% of millennials are buying groceries online, proving grocers need to adapt their businesses for these growing segments. 

“The omnichannel shopper is the most-valuable customer,” Smith said

Little Red Box founder Samuel Newman said he knew he needed to target this specific shopper to help grow his business and make healthy food more accessible to more people.

“We were eager to bring our store online and researched how to do this on our own,” Newman told WGB.  “When we realized the overwhelming amount of time, cost and expertise that required, we quickly pivoted to selecting Grocerist. They offer all of the grocery specific features and functionality built on the Shopify platform so we can take advantage of the unique marketing integrations Shopify offers with Facebook, Google, email platforms and more. Now, with Grocerist’s marketing support, we can grow our customer base (both in-store and online), increase order size, increase purchase frequency and really emerge as an omni-channel grocer to better support our suppliers, customers, and community.”

Grocerist customizes Shopify and integrates proprietary and best-in-class third-party technology to satisfy the unique needs of independents, Grocerist said in a statement.

“We’re very much looking to level the playing field for small to medium sized grocers by providing enterprise-grade technology,” Smith said.