[blackwasp]

The current situation across the country has had an unprecedented effect on the way we buy supplies and groceries. Big brands like DMart, Big Bazaar, etc. are operating at limited hours and restricting entry inside to a lesser number of people at once. A friend told me Big Bazaar is issuing coupons and they run out of those for the day in just 30 mins. Due to social distancing norms, an aunt said she has to spend 2-3 hrs just in the queue to get to her turn to buy groceries. And, this is not in some remote part of the country, but in the financial capital of India - Mumbai.

Delivery services like Amazon Pantry, Big Basket etc. too have failed with their logistics network completely crippled. While they have now resumed services across select cities, the pin codes served are a fraction of what they used to service and the delivery slots are very limited. A Flipkart order for some groceries took about a week to be delivered and at one point we contemplated cancelling the order.

Even if you are not a fan of online ordering of groceries, the local stores too have had issues replenishing stock. My neighbourhood shop owner commented that very few transporters are operating and those that do, are asking astronomical prices per trip. Combine it with people hoarding stuff, it leads to a shortfall for items like bread, biscuits, Maggi and other ready to cooks meals, etc. Of the list of groceries, one wants, only about 60-70% is available at once. Luckily, there is no shortage of food grains.

Vegetable markets have also been closed and small-time vendors are finding it difficult to procure fresh stock. In the case of larger housing societies like the one where I live (400+ apartments), a dedicated person comes and is here for the better part of the day. Ofcouse, he charges a bit on the higher side, but we are at least assured of fresh vegetables and some fruits every day. Folks living in independent houses and smaller complexes might have to venture out a bit further for this.

In times like these, the small Kirana store has come to the rescue of many (including yours truly). These guys are working literally day and night to ensure supplies reach to everyone who orders or visits them. The owners themselves are going out and delivering orders on their scooters. Last week, we had a delivery at 11 pm and delivery person refused a tip and instead commented that he has one more home to visit before he calls it a day.

However, in times like these, I feel we will rewrite the traditional supply chains for sure. For example, a lot of companies are now procuring vegetables and fruits directly from the farmers instead of going through multiple middlemen.

So, how are you getting your groceries and supplies these days and what are the challenges that you are facing over it?

[sbanerjee]

I second your thoughts on the local stores. Some years back, after going through readings on how the likes of Amazon and Big Basket have pushed local stores at the brink, we made a conscious decision to get the monthly grocery from one of the local stores. During the lockdown, that small store has ensured the grocery supplies to our home, including small demands from my daughter for chocolates, cream biscuits and icecreams. The owner runs around the locality to deliver stuffs. Amazon, Big Basket, Spencers etc have failed BIG TIME. Could not manage to get anything from them, including urgent care needs such as diapers, which again was gotten from local stores.

[hareshjethwani]

We are quite lucky not to face any issues with supplies of groceries or any other essential products. The weekly veggies and quiet a few provisions are taken care of by Dunzo Delivery. Other products which are not available through them are sourced through Nilgiris store close to my apartment which is open from 7 AM - 12 PM. There are long lines though but people follow social distancing. Pretty much the store is stocked up and hardly anything you don't get. Amazon, Flipkart, Big Basket, etc don't deliver or take too long to deliver, so were never under consideration.

[GTO]

We're sailing along alright, except that there is a bit more running around for my watchman (who is doubling up as the food shopper temporarily). Instead of getting it all from a single place, he is having to hop around a bit more.

There is a store called Magnet Hypermarket where you pretty much get everything. They have a "token" system where they allot a specific time slot for you to shop.

Not getting my favourite item - cheese - though. It's been a week since I had cheese :(. On Sunday, we'd made burgers at home which had a liberal dose of butter applied instead.

P.S. What a missed opportunity by Big Basket & the like! This was the time to bet the house, but they clearly weren't ready.

[boniver]

I have a Spencer's and Reliance Fresh, both within 200 metres of my house, so getting stuff is not an issue. There was a shortage of bread in the initial stages of lockdown, but even that has been sorted now. The only issue (but I'm not complaining) is the long queues outside these places, since they're only allowing about 5-10 customers inside the store at one time. Every time I pick something up, I need to stand in a queue for 30-45 minutes. People waiting in the queue usually maintain adequate distance and stand far away from each other. This queue can be avoided in the evening, but by then most of the stuff is out of stock.
These places now offer home delivery services too, but I don't see the point of burdening those delivery boys when I can myself go out to get my stuff. This way, they can serve those who genuinely need stuff to be delivered to their doorstep.

I visit the local market once a week for chicken and mutton. We can survive without those, but the dogs can't. Those places are pretty crowded though (check attached photos). Thankfully, 99% people now use some kind of a mask.

[ast.ggn]

We haven't faced any problems till now, small neighbourhood stores are working fine. One of us steps out once in 3-4 days and gets the required stuff. I was never a fan of Big Basket/ Grofers due to limited options available on offer, but Amazon Pantry/ Fresh has been a big disappointment. This was a time when they could have made their base stronger across the country apart from helping people in need but either they are rendered helpless by logistic issues or they are too lazy to work with authorities. A missed opportunity indeed.

[SoumenD]

Corona has made us realize the value of local stores. We had pretty much forgotten them thanks to the advent of big basket and other mall-based bigger chains like hypercity, big bazaar etc. But this crisis has squared off things. Yes local stores are making some marginal extra profit, thanks to lack of competition but it's ok at this hour of crisis. I did place bigger order on big basket and flipkart groceries way back around 16/17th March, but they kept extending the dates till almost month end so I ended up cancelling the orders.

Bigger societies with an active core committee seem to be doing alright. We are lucky to have a store inside society(2000+ apartments) which has decent stock of groceries, other essentials, vegetables and fruits. In addition to that we have a vegetable & dairy vendor coming in 4 days a week specially for the society. I trusted government's words and didn't hoard stuff at all while people went crazy around 23rd/24th March hoarding stuff. 27th onward everything (almost) has been available in our area.

[mazda4life]

Our local MP (Bangalore south ) has a Whatsapp / call centre based grocery delivery system. You can order over phone or app and mention your shop name ( local shops ) and the grocery will be delivered and you pay the guy and moreover there are no delivery charges. My uncles who are aged and stay alone utilise this service and are real happy, issue is that there are too many volunteers to help them for their sparse needs.

[TheHelix0202]

People are scurrying around multiple times a day, without much regard to the curfew. They are also hoarding up on snacks and the like, at least where we are shopping for now at the nearby Nilgiris (there’s a few more supermarkets around too that we don’t visit). A couple of tetra packs of juice and a few eatables is all we are buying right now (the last buy was a week ago and is nearly depleted).

When it comes to mainstream groceries, there’s this famous open market here but that’s too far away for us to visit on a regular basis, so we just go to one of the smaller ones set up in a nearby school ground.

Since we’re not in Bangalore anymore, I have no clue of the situation in any of the bigger cities. This place is a medium sized town, so nothing is really organised or delivered home. To each his own work.

[reignofchaos]

First week I ended up going to the local store and vegetable vendor. However quality was pitiful for both.

By end of second week, Big Basket started delivering. So everything is being delivered to my doorstep without me having to step out. Quality of vegetables is a lot better than what is available locally.

In the last month since 13th of March, I have stepped out only twice - once to buy supplies in the first week and second time recently to replenish stocks of essential medicines.

[ashis89]

For all my grocery shopping, I have to drive a good 7 kms from home!
Then take a U-turn, drive back more than 6 kms on those empty roads and park in front of the supermarket nearby.

This is a plea to give the car (and myself) a drive once every week. On a serious note, I walk down to the supermarket nearby to get the grocery. I rely on the small vendors on the road for vegetables and few vendors who come around visiting the apartment. Shops selling non-veg are also available within walking distance. So I just step out every 5-7 days and walk around for these things.


I did visit a couple of kirana stores nearby. However I didn't get all the things I wanted and had to visit multiple times. This meant I had to step out of home frequently which I didn't want to.

To avoid this, I tried my hands with Big Basket and ended up being very disappointed. After a lot of patience, I managed to place one order. Out of 18 items in the order, 8 were cancelled. Out of the 10 delivered, I found the quality of vegetables to be poor.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

A lot of complaints regarding Big Basket - and they are clearly overwhelmed by the demand, but I'm still able to shop with them for most stuff. In fact, Big Basket has quite clearly provided most of our essentials during this period. Just checked the app - I got deliveries on 23rd March, 29th March, 6th April and 8th April with another upcoming delivery in the schedule as well. The difficulty was only in placing the orders - with server crashes and issues earlier in the lockdown, and slots opening up only rarely now.

Depending on 'freshtohome' for the occasional (ordered twice) meat and fish, and the neighbourhood stores for veggies and groceries - whichever BigBasket didn't have in stock or didn't deliver.

[Malyaj]

I have a restaurant account with Zomato Hyperpure (Zomato's wholesale division) and have asked them deliver to my home as the restaurant is closed. Packing units are bigger than what a small family would typically need so I consolidate orders from my building. They have been by far the most reliable. Random needs have been met through local vendors or hyperlocal apps such as Daily Ninja and Milk Basket. Bigger companies like Big Basket and Amazon have been a huge let down, at least in my area.

Another trend that has started is procuring directly from growers. We now have separate WhatsApp groups for Mangoes, Guavas and Grapes! Collectively from the building we are able to place orders in excess of 100Kg per week so the growers are happy to deliver. The prices they are selling at can never be matched by any wholesaler, let alone retailer.

[akshaymahajan]

Big Basket seems to be recovering now after the initial days of the lockdown. Placed an order on Sunday evening and it was delivered Monday evening. Finding a slot is tricky and you do need to keep looking for it every now and then though. But everything I needed/ordered was delivered, so all is good.

In addition, freshtohome for the meats and Dunzo for everything else seems to work pretty well here in Bangalore.

I am a little surprised on how Swiggy Stores cant keep up with Dunzo though!

[dhanushs]

Well, I live in a small town and we are getting it the usual way. From super markets in the town. Only thing, now no one is allowed to enter the shop. There will be a person sitting outside and you have to handover your detailed shopping list to him. He will check and say if there is stock or only a different brand. Once confirmed you can just wait or finish other chores, they’ll pack and give it to you outside the shop.

Same goes for milk, meat and eggs. Nothing has changed. We still get milk and eggs from the same house. However there is a shortage of red meat and we have switched to packed red meat from a factory very near to my house. They ensure the stuff is good.