Grocery delivery software, same engine, different catalogue
Pack-size variants, substitutions, delivery slots and a rider fleet — the parts food delivery never needed and grocery always does.
Grocery is not food delivery with vegetables
The order flow looks similar and the operational reality is different. A grocery basket is larger and has more line items, stock changes hourly, customers expect a delivery slot rather than "in 30 minutes", and substitutions are normal — the 1 kg bag of rice is out, do they want two 500 g bags?
Foodomaa's catalogue model handles categories, items, variants and stock, and the delivery engine handles zones, fees and rider dispatch. What you configure differently for grocery is the browsing hierarchy, the pack-size variants and the slot messaging.
What to configure first
- Category tree — produce, dairy, staples, frozen, household. Keep it under eight top-level categories; grocery apps lose people in deep menus.
- Variants — 500 g / 1 kg / 5 kg as item variants so stock and price stay attached to one product.
- Slots — if you promise morning and evening windows, make the cut-off explicit on the storefront, not in a support reply.
- Minimum basket — set it against the delivery cost, or a $3 order will cost you money on every trip.
- Zones — grocery radii tend to be tighter than restaurant radii because baskets are heavier and trips are longer.
Inventory discipline is the product
The single biggest cause of grocery refunds is selling what you do not have. Whatever the software does, the operating rule has to be: stock is decremented at order acceptance, not at packing, and sold-out items disappear from the storefront immediately. A customer who sees "in stock" and then gets a refund does not come back.
Who this fits
- A local supermarket adding home delivery without listing on a third-party app.
- An online-only grocery brand running dark-store style fulfilment.
- A restaurant or cloud kitchen adding staples and packaged goods to its basket.
- A multi-store platform that wants grocery alongside restaurant delivery in the same app.
What is the same as food delivery
Rider app, dispatch queue, cash reconciliation, coupons, wallets, customer accounts and the admin panel. You are reusing the delivery engine, not rebuilding it — which is why the licence stays at $299 rather than scaling with your catalogue.
Grocery vs restaurant delivery
| Operational area | Restaurant | Grocery |
|---|---|---|
| Basket size | Small, one meal | Large, many line items |
| Stock | Sold out per dish | Changes hourly across SKUs |
| Promise | 30–45 minutes | Slot or same-day window |
| Substitutions | Rare | Normal; needs a policy |
| Packaging | Hot-bag | Bags, crates, cold chain |
| Rider economics | Short trips, high frequency | Longer trips, heavier baskets |
A grocery launch sequence
- Limit the catalogue to 300–600 fast-moving SKUs, not the whole wholesaler list.
- Create pack-size variants (500 g, 1 kg, 5 kg) so stock and price stay on one product.
- Set a minimum basket that covers the delivery cost; grocery orders are heavier and less frequent.
- Publish the cut-off for each slot and make it visible before checkout.
- Run one picker, one rider and 20 test orders before opening the catalogue.
- Review refunds daily for the first two weeks; substitutions and missing items are the main leak.
Weight and pack sizes
The standard catalogue supports item variants, which cover pack sizes such as 500 g, 1 kg and 5 kg. True price-per-kg pricing — where the customer enters a weight and the price recalculates — is a custom extension, not a native product type. If your model needs loose produce sold by weight, scope that as paid custom work before launch.
For the wider category question, read the Indonesia market guide or compare Foodomaa with 6amMart for multi-vertical scope.
Grocery Delivery Software questions
Does it support weight-based pricing?
Pack-size variants are native. A true price-per-kg flow with a weight input is a custom extension; it is not part of the standard product.
Can I run one supermarket?
Yes. Single-store grocery is a normal configuration; the same installation can add more stores later.
Does it support delivery slots?
The OrderSchedule module supports date and time-slot orders. Configure cut-offs and capacity per slot.
How do I handle substitutions?
The software can record the substitution, but the policy is operational: contact the customer, propose an alternative, and refund the difference if rejected.
Can I use cash on delivery?
Yes, with per-rider cash limits and end-of-shift reconciliation.
Metrics that matter weekly
- Fill rate — the share of ordered items actually delivered. Below 95%, fix stock before marketing.
- Substitution rate — high substitution means the catalogue is too broad or stock is stale.
- Basket size — grocery delivery only works above a minimum that covers picking and trip cost.
- Slot on-time rate — a missed grocery window is worse than a late restaurant order.
- Refund per 100 orders — the clearest signal of picking and packing quality.
Review those five numbers every Monday. A grocery operation with a 4.8 rating and a 90% fill rate is still losing customers; the rating arrives before the refund. If fill rate is below 95%, stop advertising and fix stock before buying more traffic.