Relentless. That's the only way to describe eight-month-old Zepto's pursuit of the sub-10-minute grocery delivery.
The position of its dark stores, the position of items within these stores, the paths its packers walk, and the routes its riders take are all optimized in order to best meet its self-imposed delivery goal. Even the sort of bags it uses—flat-bottomed paper bags—are meant to ensure faster, more efficient packing. In fact, just its choice of bag, claims the company, saves up to six seconds.
And for Zepto, every second counts. Today, the company claims an average delivery time of eight minutes and forty-seven seconds. Zepto's need for speed was born of something the company learnt in its early days. As it reduced delivery times from 40 minutes to around 20, customer usage went up 2.5X. Improving this to ten minutes, it reckoned, would only improve customer stickiness and order frequency.
But is ten-minute grocery delivery really necessary? I remember the first time I used the service; I was thrilled. But once orders—sometimes for things as trivial as a single lighter or a packet of crisps—began reaching my doorstep four or five minutes after I requested them, the absurdity of the situation sunk in. Who really needs 10-minute grocery deliveries? Or, perhaps more accurately, who needs 10-minute grocery deliveries often?
And, crucially, are people willing to pay for such a service? As our today's article points out, Zepto's low- or no-charge model can't be sustainable if the company cannot build order volumes that optimally utilise its technology. The article takes you through the various hacks Zepto employs, decodes its speed-focussed mindset, and ultimately examines the sustainability of the Zepto model. It's a great insight into a young and hungry company that's shaking up the grocery spac..