Business idea -genius or rubbish

pennyshahin_2

I've had an idea of making a bit of money what do you think ? an internet shopping service for people who can't get to the shops ie the elderly,busy people they can't always get to the shops and don't have a computer you drop of an order form they can fill it out or ring you telling you what they want and for a small fee your do their on line shopping at whatever supermarket they prefer -I thought it was quite good but it's probably rubbish.

McKneff

Idont think its rubbish at all. I think it could be viable. Good for you.
Hopefully we wont both be shot down in flames by others

There will be pitfalls, ie returning stuff but I'm sure there will be people
along soon who can give more advice than me,

Oldernotwiser

I have no idea whether it's good or rubbish, but why post it online where others might copy it?

pennyshahin_2

Probably because I have all these ideas but never follow them through

pinkpig08

In your post you said it would be an internet shopping service, but then said for people who don't have a computer - how would they find you? Or do you mean YOU do the shopping online for them?

smk77

pinkpig08 wrote: »

In your post you said it would be an internet shopping service, but then said for people who don't have a computer - how would they find you? Or do you mean YOU do the shopping online for them?

I think this bit gives it away....

don't have a computer you drop of an order form they can fill it out

Just a few comments on the OPs idea:

1. An elderly person is going to have a small weekly shopping bill..Don't most supermarkets have a minimum order of £50?

2. How much is a small fee? By the time you've collected orders and placed them you'll have spent quite a lot of time.

3. The elderly typically have low incomes. Possibly not the best people to make money out of.

It all sounds like something you'd do to help people rather than a money making business. If that's what you want then go for it.

pennyshahin_2

Thanks for your thoughts ,you make some valid points-it would probably be quite alot of hassle as well

dobbie82

You could have a laptop and a mobile internet dongle and do it in their own home, but things would get very complicated very quickly, and the bank might query the money passing through your bank account if you are getting large sums of cash, and paying out on card.

teabelly

The only way you could make this work would be to aggregate the orders so that you got bulk discounts which would be your profit margin. But those that are housebound or not part of the majority of the adult population that use the internet aren't going to be able to afford your service and would probably be using the home help service.

A shopping service for the time poor but better off is a better demographic to target. One possibility would be something like a mother's little helper that collected dry cleaning and those other errand runs that take time.

Mattb07

Just like to put my 2pence worth on this. I had this idea and did quite a lot of market research on it. I found that the people who did not have computer usage were mainly elderly so spot on on the target market.

However....and these were what stopped me pursuing it.

A lot of elderly people actually liked getting out of the house and walking or taking a bus into town to buy groceries.

A lot of elderly people told me that either a carer or a close family relative would do this for them. When i put the idea to them of mail order shopping, around half of whom said that close family did their shopping for them said that they wouldnt change their shopping habits because they didn't want to lose contact with their family and that might happen if they didnt come round as often to deliver the groceries.

Nearly all care homes have staff who do the regular shopping anyway and those not in care homes or similar are usually well enough to get out of the house to do the shopping. Which when asked they enjoy.

I think if you targeted location of potential customers rather than the actual age or physical ability of customers you would be on to something. I know a friend who works as a telephone sales person for a catalogue company and most people who spend with him are from hard to reach area's. In the hills or so on or on one of the Isle's.

Hope this has put some insight to your idea.

I surveyed 10 care homes and posted flyers through doors to which 57 people replied to who were 60+.

Adamb_3

I don't think that's a new concept. There are many websites that do that already. But I do have a suggestion: what if you cater to the customers' needs by doing the shopping yourself? You could start at a small scale like your neighborhood or at the town next to yours. You could bear the title "Shopper For Hire".