What is a Dark Store? The Rising Trend in e-Commerce

“Search, compare and, if you find something better, buy it.” That was the slogan for the Spanish brand Colón in the 80s — an ad that brought success to a company that wasn’t going through the best of times and that, in time, would end up being considered the best slogan for a Spanish advertising campaign. Nowadays, we keep doing what the famous claim told us to, but in a very different way. Searching and comparing is something we can now do with very little effort from our smartphone. But that isn’t the only thing that has changed: what we look for when we’re shopping is now very different from before.

According to a study on online sales carried out by AMVO, door to door delivery has become the most relevant feature for 62% of consumers, even above price. Currently, the first thing that online consumers look for and compare is how fast their products will be delivered. This has become one of the main postulates for e-commerces who develop new operational models in order to satisfy their clients’ needs in the least possible time. Models like the Dark Stores’, for example, are becoming more and more common in every city. But, how do they work?

Let’s start from the beginning:

Characteristics of a Successful Dark Store

As is the case for any business, the characteristics of each store will determine its success or its failure. Here are some of the key points to have in mind if you want your Dark Store to be a success:

• Location: As we’ve already mentioned, Dark Stores are usually located in strategic, well connected areas. Usually, these are located on the outskirts of cities, taking advantage of their easy access and the affordable prices of the land. However,the number of dark supermarkets in urban centres is increasing, due to their need to be able to offer faster delivery times in smaller areas of operations. The Urban Dark Stores business model allows them to complete retail orders (members) with fast, efficient and safe deliveries, 24/7, in 30 minutes or less. Some examples of these are El Corte Inglés or Dia Supermarkets.
• Automation: Dark Stores are headed towards total automation. Some are already there and work with robots that pick up and pack the orders. Others are still developing and use a hybrid model, with automated trolleys that pick up the orders and take them to the staff in charge of programming the delivery.
• Hours: A Dark Store is able to offer a much faster delivery service than a traditional store. That’s due, among other factors, to their hours. Dark Stores work 24/7, the 365 days of the year.

Why Should You Set Up a Dark Store? Main Benefits:

The benefits for users are quite clear: it’s all about waiting times and product availability. But, what about companies? What’s good about having a Dark Store? Here’s what:

1. State of the Inventory: Automation allows you to manage the inventory in real time and to know its state at all times.
2. Opportunities for New Products: Thanks to the capacity of the long tail of the internet, introducing new products to the online store, ready to be delivered, becomes much easier.
3. Globalisation for Retailers: This form of online business allows retailers to start operating in new regions and markets where they don’t have existing physical operations.
4. Transportation Efficiency: Having a centralised route plan, allows trucks to be used at full capacity in every delivery.