The way to profitable Internet grocery retailing – six lessons learned

The launch of a wave of Internet grocery retailers over the last five years was a serious attempt to challenge the dominant supermarket business model. However, after a string of business failures, it is evident that the task of selling groceries on the Internet and delivering to the home of the consumer is more difficult than was anticipated. Six important lessons can be drawn, based on direct consumer experiences, from a pilot in the Helsinki area of Finland and the in‐depth modelling and study of different logistics solution models from around the world. This paper discusses these lessons in detail.