Imagine you are the PM for a grocery chain (like Safeway). How would you build a product to serve niche markets?

Clarifying questions -

• What do you mean by a niche market? e.g, organic, vegan, etc. Consider any
• Do you already have any product which needs improvement? No
• Will it be for any specific geography? You can decide
• Do you want to build it for a specific platform? All
  • In-store?
  • Web?
  • Mobile?
    • Android?
    • iOS?
• What is the business goal here? You decide
  • User acquisition?
  • User engagement?
  • Monetisation?
• Do we have any competitor offerings? Yes

• Allergic to animal products including dairy
• Diet conscious
• Nature lovers
• Adulteration concerns

• Where to find vegan/ organic products
• How to be sure that the product is genuinely vegan/ organic
• What is the composition
• Is the price authentic
• Since this is niche right now, these users might prefer to valdiate themeselves before purchasing, so might need an in-store experience as well coupled with digital experience

• Discovery
  • Add filters on the search page - Organic, Vegan, Online only, etc.
  • In the SRP, listings will be displayed for each retail store where the product is available
  • For each listing add a label related to purely online, organic, vegan, etc.
  • In the PDP, clearly list out the manufacturer details ingredients including allergens
  • Clearly mention the MRP along with mfg/ exp date
• Add to Cart
  • Once the product is added to cart, the latest stock availability and price should be updated
• Checkout
  • Customers will have an option to check out to payment page or Pre-book and Pay in store option
  • In case of online purchase, customers can go to shipping details page (can be auto-filled for returning customers) and then apply promo codes, discount offers and proceed to make payment and complete the transaction
  • If customer chooses to Pre-book, they will have a 2 hr window, within which they need to do the in-store purchase
  • For in-store purchase through app, customers will have an order id with qr code, through which the store can identify the product and give it to the customer
  • Customers can choose to do purely in-store purchase by getting details of teh store from the app as well
• AI assistant
• Loyalty, rewards
• Smart order lists creation for repeat buyers
• Share shopping/ cart list with friends

• Discovery and add to cart
• Online + Offline + Pre-book modes of order completion
• Smart order lists creation

• AI assistant
• Loyalty/ rewards program

• # of daily orders
• % niche product sales
• Split of online v/s pre-book orders
• Category wise sales
• Usage of smart order lists feature
• Usage of share lists feature
• Usage of AI assistant
• Usage of loyalty program
• DAU/ WAU/ MAU
• AOV
• Daily/ Weekly/ Monthly revenue
• Customer NPS

Clarifying Questions

1. Which niche markets? (organic, gluten-free, vegan)—consider all
2. Online, in-store (e-commerce platform, an app, or an in-store solution)—All
3. Business goal? – Increase revenue and customer base, customer satisfaction
4. Is there any competitor?  – No

Problem Definition

Customers struggle with:

1. Limited availability of niche products in grocery stores
2. Difficulty in discovering relevant products
3. Trust issues as not all labels are accurate
4. High costs of specialty products

User Personas

1. Health-Conscious Shopper
2. People prone to Allergies
3. Fitness Enthusiasts

Customer Needs

1.     Easy product discovery (filter niche grocery items)

2.     Trust & transparency (verified labels and source information)

3.     Affordability (cost-effective options and deals on niche items)

4.     Seamless omnichannel presence (online and offline availability)

Solutions (Product Features)

1.     Personalized Grocery Shopping Platform: Niche product filter (select vegan, gluten-free, organic, etc.)

2.     AI-Powered Smart Recommendations

3.     Trust Labels verification: verified niche products

4.     Store & Online Integration: real-time in-store availability tracker of a niche product

5.     Affordability: Discounts on bulk purchase

6.     Loyalty Rewards: special pricing for repeat buyers

Prioritize Solutions (Value vs. Effort)

1.     High Priority (High Impact, Low Effort): Personalized Grocery Shopping Platform, Store & Online Integration, Trust Labels verification

2.     Medium Priority (High Impact, Higher Effort): Affordability, Loyalty Rewards

3.     Low Priority (High Effort, Uncertain ROI): AI-Powered Smart Recommendations

Success Metrics

1. Increase in niche product sales ($)
2. Customer engagement with niche diet filters & recommendations (CTR)
3. Loyalty program adoption
4. Customer satisfaction
5. NPS

Summary

A personalized grocery shopping platform for niche markets, with verified trust labels, real-time stock tracking, and AI-powered recommendations, will enhance the customer experience and drive revenue growth.