How to Get Started with Ecommerce for Local Bakery Delivery

9 min read

If businesses have learned anything in the last few years, it’s that customers love shopping online. And that’s good news for local bakeries. The global market for online food ordering and delivery is expected to pass $192 billion by 2025—so if you’re thinking about getting started with ecommerce for local bakery delivery, now’s the time to do it.

But how do you get started? Don’t worry. Launching a delivery service for your baked goods isn’t as daunting as it may sound. And with an ecommerce platform like Ecwid, you’ll have control over everything from where you’re willing to drive to how much the service will cost.

What We’ll Cover

How to pick an ecommerce platform for your bakery
How much your delivery system may cost
What you’ll need for your product listings
What the online order and delivery process looks like
How to get the most out of ecommerce for local bakery delivery

A Step-by-Step Guide to Picking the Best Ecommerce Platform for Local Bakery Delivery

Your bakery is unique, so you need a delivery system that meets your specific needs, whatever they may be. Let’s take a look at three steps you can take to find the perfect delivery platform.

Step One: Analyze the fees

There’s a good chance you’ve used a food delivery service before, so you might already have a couple of options in mind for your bakery. Nationwide companies like Grubhub and UberEats could be good candidates—both offer partnership programs that let bakeries take orders online then complete deliveries through a ready-to-go platform.

This is really helpful since the platform manages things like drivers and scheduling. You might also get access to a bigger share of the market thanks to being listed on the companies’ apps.

However, it’s not all good news. One of the biggest issues with Grubhub and UberEats is the partnership fees. With both options, you could lose as much as 30% to operating costs. Ouch.

But don’t lose hope! There are better options out there. For example, some ecommerce platforms let you set up local bakery delivery without imposing an additional transaction fee beyond your monthly membership cost. And at Ecwid, we provide a simple way to start local bakery deliveries without taking a cut of your profits. Ultimately, look for a platform that wants your business to succeed and lets you keep your earnings along the way.

Step Two: Make sure it’s available in your area

This one may seem obvious, but there’s a hidden catch that you should be on the lookout for.

With some third-party delivery systems (e.g. Grubhub), the company will have a limit on how far drivers can go to bring your customers their baked goods. So while a given delivery platform may technically work in your area, there’s a chance that only a few customers are within the company’s driving range. This is especially true for bakeries in rural areas.

So as you look for a local bakery delivery system, make sure you’ll be giving your business access to as many customers as possible.

At Ecwid, we share your goal of connecting with a wide range of shoppers, so we let you control how far your bakery is willing to deliver.

Step Three: Think about your specific needs

No two bakeries are alike, so you need a customized delivery system that meets your individual needs. When weighing your options, look for a platform that gives you control over important functions like delivery times, minimum order requirements, and customer relations.

Let’s talk more about that last one because it really matters. Customer relations through standardized options such as UberEats can be a nightmare. If the third-party delivery driver somehow messes up your customer’s order, that customer probably won’t be enthusiastic about making another purchase—even though it wasn’t your bakery’s fault.

That’s why it’s a good idea to look for local delivery systems that let you connect directly with your customers—so even if something does go wrong, you’ll be able to make it right and give your shopper a good experience.

How Does the Online Ordering and Delivery Process Work?

Once you’ve got a local bakery delivery system picked out, it’s time to actually start selling. But how does that work? The process has two main steps: list your products then fulfill your orders.

How to list baked goods for sale online

The actual process for listing your cakes, cookies, and other goodies will depend on the platform you use, but you can generally expect to need a few simple things to get started.

Pictures of your baked goods
The price of your product
A title/description

If all that sounds confusing, don’t worry—we’ve got a helpful guide to making high-quality listings for your products.

How to handle online baked goods orders

Once a customer orders from your bakery, you’ll be ready to kick off the local delivery process. Depending on your platform, that process will vary, but you can usually expect something like this.

The sale is made and you’re notified
You verify that payment was received
The delivery person heads off with the order

If you use Ecwid, you’ll have access to a dashboard with functions like marking an order as delivered and insights about your sales. You can also provide customers a delivery timeline and download your orders as a spreadsheet for customized record keeping.

How to Get the Most out of Ecommerce for Local Bakery Delivery

As your local delivery system gets up and running, it’s important to have operating strategies ready so you get the most out of your new venture. Here are two important things to think about:

Logistics

You got your first online delivery order! So how’s it getting to the customer? Having a delivery plan from the very beginning is super important. To get your plan started, consider these questions:

Will I need to hire a new employee for delivery orders?
How will the delivery person get around? (Car, bike, etc.)
How far will my bakery deliver?

Marketing

Local delivery has the potential to be a valuable part of your business, but only if people know about it. While the best marketing efforts will be unique to your bakery, these proven strategies may help:

In-store ads: Tell your regulars about your new service.
Online ads: If you use Ecwid, you can launch Google ad campaigns right from your dashboard.
Social media promos: Take full advantage of the internet with Instagram, Facebook, and Snapchat advertising.

Time to Get Selling

Now that you’ve got some insight into ecommerce for local bakery delivery, it’s time to start selling. Between the boom in online shopping and the growing demand for delivery services, there’s really never been a better time.

Sell online

With Ecwid Ecommerce, you can easily sell anywhere, to anyone — across the internet and around the world.

Get started

Jun 17, 2021

About the author

Max has been working in the ecommerce industry for the last six years helping brands to establish and level-up content marketing and SEO. Despite that, he has experience with entrepreneurship. He is a fiction writer in his free time.