At Wolt, grocery delivery has become the second most important delivery segment after meals from restaurants. (source: Courtesy of Wolt)
While they began operating in Slovakia more than a decade ago, it was only during the Covid-19 pandemic that online grocery shops became popular.
Worried about possible infection, some people saw shopping through the internet as a safer way of obtaining their groceries than going into bricks-and-mortar shops.
But post-pandemic, the popularity of buying groceries online has not dimmed, as customers like Viera Tomanková, who works in banking in Bratislava, attest.
“It’s convenient and moreover, this way I don’t succumb to the temptation of impulse shopping and ‘can’t miss’ sales in bricks-and-mortar shops, so I buy only what I really need,” she told The Slovak Spectator.
During the pandemic, new players entered the online grocery market while traditional retail chains also strengthened their existing online services.
Tesco was first
In 2012, the Slovak arm of the British retail chain Tesco Stores SR was the first retail chain to offer online food shopping in Slovakia.
It first provided the service exclusively in Bratislava, but later expanded it to other regions of the country.
Its service currently covers 3.4 million people or 1.3 million households, which is 65 percent of the Slovak population.
“This service was very popular during the pandemic, but it has remained popular post-pandemic,” Martin Kuruc, country CEO of Tesco Stores SR, told The Slovak Spectator.
At one point, high demand – the service was often booked out three weeks in advance – forced Tesco to put a cap on order sizes.
The retailer has continued to expand its coverage, but says its primary focus now is on raising the service’s quality. It has added same-day delivery, which is starting to become a market standard, and shortened delivery windows from two hours to one. In addition to their home delivery service and pick-up at hypermarket stores, Tesco offers grocery deliveries through online food delivery services Wolt and Foodora (formerly Foodpanda).
Meanwhile, other chains have begun offering similar services.
