There are three online grocery business models: start fresh, leverage out, and local bui ld.
The history of large-scale onl ine grocery begins with the 'start fresh" approach of webvan launched in 1999 with $400 million for a fee of venture funding, and another $600 million of stock sales to the public, Webvan's business plan was audacious start a totally new nationwide, online, grocery distribution system serving 10 cities at first, and expanding to additional major cities in a few years. When Webvan flamed out July 2001 after having spent almost $1 billion the Uni in trying to build the Web's largest online grocery store based on huge distribution warehouses in seven items U.S. cities and p most pundits and investors thought the entire online grocery busin model was either a failure or a fraud Super Facing the costs of building an entirely new distribution system of warehouses and truck fleets to compe with mars. existing grocery businesses, not to mention the expense of marketing, and a huge m infrastructure, Webvan mod compounded its problems by offering below market prices and free delivery of even small orders at just about Paul any time of the day or night in urban areas often clogged with traffic. Webvan is generally considered to be the know largest and most spectacular e-commerce failure in history. That said, it was also ahead of its time: very few Fed customers felt comfortable ordering "high-touch' goods online in 2001. Today, the culture of online purchasing and has changed.