Table 2. Managerial Implications for Different Types of Online Grocery Destinations.

Platform type and characteristics	Pandemic marketing plan	Pandemic safety conduct
National grocery shopping platform - Preestablished technological infrastructures - Pricing advantage - Large consumer base who are familiar with the platform but typically shop other categories - Sufficient funds to handle fast delivery, increasing orders, and health certification	In the short term: - Provide promotional discounts or rewards to motivate the original users to try online grocery shopping service - Have professionally trained employees equipped with comprehensive protection and mass testing to work on delivery jobs In the long-term: - Expand to smaller townships, so that more consumers have access to the service - Provide health certificates to food items, especially imported goods to ensure safety procedure - Fast delivery and freshness guaranteed to ensure consumer satisfaction - Build independent logistic system, E.g.,: Central stations in major intersections for fast delivery - Establish flexible return service for consumers who are not satisfied with items purchased	In the short-term: - Have frontline employees routinely tested and equipped with comprehensive PPE and respond to their concerns about health risks - Closely monitor and report food safety information for items from high-risk regions In the long-term: - Have appropriate training for all employees regarding online delivery services - Monitor the raw food materials (veggies, fruits, diary, and poultry items) closely, including food sources, quality, and keeping that information traceable online - Maintain transparent communication with consumers via social media, store app, and websites - Ensure that food packaging contains correct and clear ingredient information, and that the packaging is sustainable
Grocery store online platform -Large consumer base who typically shop in-store	In the short term: - Provide promotional discounts or rewards programs for current in-store consumers to convert in-store consumers to online shoppers - Promote pick-up services to reduce possible high demands on delivery services In the long term: - Facilitate online grocery shopping by affiliating with third-party platforms rather than creating its own platform to reduce the operational costs and mitigate risks
Regional grocery shopping platform -There is a large and profitable market in which to compete - Consumers are seeking and willing to try new forms of online grocery shopping - Lacking resources for mass competition	In the short term: - Focus on local supply and demand by working with local restaurants, farmers, and small business owners to reduce costs, maintain food freshness, and add connection to the local community In the long term: - Avoid direct competition with larger firms who have pricing advantages by strategically create niche markets on a few product types. For example, freshly dried fruits and veggies; handmade cookies and shortbread, premade meals for WFH parents - Try new forms of online grocery shopping, e.g., monthly subscription of veggie/gluten-free/balanced grocery supplies with recipes - Try online grocery shopping by topics, e.g., Independence Day barbecue, Keto diet, graduation party - Adopt existing platforms instead of creating exclusive platforms may further reduce the costs of operating a new business and mitigating risk