Buying groceries can be a pain in the ass for many. It can be a real chore, especially when buying bulky items like milk or rice. Plus, most Singaporean families have “dual income” which means quite often neither the man nor the women has the time to shop for groceries. Many would rather spend their time off work lying on the couch rather than grocery shopping.
The solution is simple — if we can order pizza online, surely, we can order our groceries online too. Reuben Lee, the co-founder of Household.sg, is doing exactly that. His service is an online supermarket start-up designed for both busy and lazy Singaporeans. While there are existing online supermarkets in Singapore, none of them are pleasing to the eyes. They are run by traditional brick and mortar supermarkets that have online stores just for the sake of having online stores. Here’s what Reuben has to say:
We differentiate ourselves in terms of service, selection, convenience and ease-of-use of the website. Because we are a pure-online retailer, we do not have to worry about online sales cannibalizing our brick and mortar stores. Online is our only focus. Our purpose is to make life easier for customers, so that they can free time up to do the things that truly matter.
For those of you wondering about cost, groceries on Household.sg looks to be priced slightly higher (just a couple of cents more for each item) than a regular supermarket. Goods from the site are sourced directly from the manufacturers. But for time-conscious professionals, spending a little extra money in order to save some time is a true gift.
There's something for everyone
The service is insanely simple and needed in the market. Even though Singapore is a country that spends a lot of money shopping online, it is surprising that there isn’t a dominant online supermarket player. Local supermarket brands like Fairprice and Shop and Save are apparently neglecting the potentially-lucrative business opportunity that the online market could present.
The site was launched in late May 2011, and Reuben told me that sales figures have been pretty encouraging so far. The average order is about SGD$70 and his current customer base ranges from expats and students to housewives.
The development team is made up of three people: a designer, a developer, and Reuben himself.
Reuben also said that his start-up, though launched, is far from complete. From what I understand, Household.sg is looking to integrate Facebook features and also personalized recommendations into its website.
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