The online grocery sector has changed dramatically since the outbreak of COVID-19. With strict guidelines on social distancing, and various hygiene guidelines now in place, consumers have had to radically change their shopping behaviour. Switching to online groceries has been one of the most significant resulting shopping trends.
Glanbia Ireland’s direct to consumer ‘doorstep’ service has also experienced a recent surge in demand. However this traditional milkman delivery service – which Glanbia leads in Ireland - has come through many trends and market evolutions up to the present day. The milkman was an early pioneer of the direct to consumer channel. In the early 1900s, all milk was delivered fresh, direct to homes. By the early 1990s however - with the disappearance of milk bottles and milk floats - only about 30% of milk was delivered via the ‘doorstep’ channel and this decline further in the years that followed.
In 2013 Glanbia re-booted the service with an online platform Mymilkman.ie. Today over 250 milkmen and women serve communities around Ireland with fresh milk and dairy produce.
Most milkmen and women have increased their customer base in recent weeks, as a result of more consumers seeking a regular and convenient delivery of their ‘essentials.’ Also, with an estimated 1/3 of workers now working from home, consumers are using more products in home, at different times of the day.
COVID-19 has also resulted in a major consumer move away from cash with the number of mymilkman.ie consumers paying by debit/credit card increasing by 50% since restrictions were first introduced.
For more information, visit Mymilkman.ie.