Drive Groceries: Household supply solution from quarantine to new normal

The current pandemic caught everyone by surprise when it hit. Consumer responses resulted in shortages of disinfectants and alcohol. The fashion industry pivoted to produce PPEs, distilleries into manufacturing rubbing alcohol, and teleconferencing apps became virtual classrooms. 

Some 100+ days of quarantine later, social distancing protocols made routine activities like grocery shopping became a matter of strategic planning. One had to consider transport availability, limited shoppers per store, long lines because skeleton crews meant fewer cashiers. It is not a strange story to hear of a trip to the grocery to require 5 hours just to get a dozen eggs.

In response to this need, Drive the app driven car rental ycompany has done its own pivot to come up with Drive Groceries as early as the third week of the quarantine. Drive Groceries is an online system of doing your grocery shopping accessible from your desktop, mobile browser at  https://groceries.drivemanila.com/ or through facebook at https://www.facebook.com/drivegroceriesphThe user interface of the platform is intuitive and user friendly. Anyone who has done any sort of shopping in virtual stores would know how to navigate the site. Items are categorized as canned goods, basic commodities, fruits, vegetables, poultry, fish, meat etc. and as a bonus there are even restaurant food selections from partner establishments to give you restaurant dining at home. If anything you want is not on the list, you can add it through the chat available on the site.

Among the other uses of the service already taken advantage of by the users is shopping for loved ones. A customer from Tacloban for example can send groceries to relatives in Quezon City. This means no need for the sender to navigate quarantine protocols to send money and for relatives to do the same to receive it before they buy the groceries. Give groceries directly to family and friends that need it.

Once ordered groceries will be received by the system and your shopping list dispatched to the nearest grocer available to do your shopping for you, no minimum orders. Due to the volume of demand, expect the groceries to take 24 hours at the most to clear the cue. But rest assured the groceries will be shopped and shipped from store to door directly — no holding time so your fresh food gets to you fresh.

All in all the cost of ordering from Drive Groceries and doing the trip yourself will not be too far off or even prove more economical. At a low 9% service charge on the total receipt (not a mark-up on individual items) + ₱200 for delivery you paid for your parking fee minus gas consumption and time in traffic. And with social distancing and isolation applied in public transport, you know that’s a good deal.

For orders amounting to ₱5, 000 and up, Drive Groceries will waive the delivery fee, and groceries ₱5, 000 and below can avail of the service through COD.

Drive Groceries currently operate in the following areas: Metro Manila, Bulacan, Rizal, Cavite and Laguna.