Ocado Solutions executive Gregor Ulitzka talks key innovation levers needed to make e-grocery successful

If there is one big lesson to learn from the rise and fall of quick commerce, with the likes of Getir struggling to stay afloat in 2024, it’s that offering a tiny range at a big premium, with varying levels of reliability is not a recipe for success.

So says Gregor Ulitzka, President Europe at Ocado Solutions.

In a LinkedIn post, he said: “Great to be back in Germany and join colleagues from across the industry at K5 - Future Retail, where I discussed with Sven Rittau the key innovation levers that are needed to make e-grocery successful “

Ocado Group, he noted, is partnered with 13 grocers worldwide, covering the most mature markets for e-commerce.

This is what the company has learned

Convenience and reliability: “You’ve got to meet customers on their terms, not yours,” Ulitzka said.

“The goal is to generate positive, sustainable economics without forcing customers to compromise on the quality of service they want. This means getting orders when customers want (flexible lead times), how they want (no subs, on-time).”

Widest range: “The wider the range, the more loyal the customer the bigger the basket. While different countries (particularly in Europe) see quite a lot of variance in the typical supermarket range offline, the global learning for online is clear.”

Competitive on price: “Online has to be a mass market offering in grocery, not a niche premium. This means pricing competitively with a store business, and keeping delivery charges low,” Ulitzka concluded.