ANOTHER option for online grocery shopping is now available for Jamaicans through Market Fresh Ja.

The online aspect of the store, operated by Market Fresh director of sales, Richard Blake, was opened in January 2018 based on a desire to apply technology to grocery shopping.

“We want to give persons the option of selecting their groceries online and having it delivered to them, rather than spending lengthy hours in the supermarket and in traffic. Our offerings at marketfreshja.com include fruits, vegetables, ground provisions, chicken, pork, beef, household chemicals, peas and beans and canned products,” he said.

Blake, an IT consultant with a specialty in software project management and Development, further pointed out that the online feature operates like most online stores in that you select your items, proceed to checkout, enter your details, and select your delivery time.

“Delivery times are Mondays to Saturdays 12:00 to 6:00 pm, and is free for orders above $3,500 and attract a cost of $700 for orders below $3,500,” he said. “For those outside of Kingston, the delivery fee is $1,000 for the first 10 pounds and $50 for every pound thereafter.”

Blake also shared that there is a physical store on King Street, but its purpose is product storage, order sorting, and dispatching of goods.

With private investors on board, Blake said his team is exploring the export market due to several requests from customers.

“Everyone — from Kingston to Negril and from almost every occupation and class of the society to restaurants, smoothie bars, individual retailers-utilise our service, and a few people hope that we can send stuff to them abroad. While it is in our plans, there are a few steps that must be ironed out before we make that offering,” he said.

Further, Blake hopes to have Market Fresh make an impact in the growing pool of online businesses locally, and promises excellence in service.

“We have also extended our platform to accommodate third party sellers, people can sell their produce on our site. So, from honey to strawberries, lettuce, yam, gait, peppers —once you have the produce, you can utilise our online platform,” he said.

In addition, Blake said that the website has a 24-hour customer service chat feature, which ensures that all questions and complaints are answered and dealt with in a timely fashion.

He also said that the software employed allows close monitoring of orders and reduces the chance of errors.

“It tracks everything. We can tell if the order hasn’t gone out, and keep track of everything and the day to day running of the business. A lot of the process is digitised,

Blake also mentioned that the quality assurance team ensures that only the finest stuff available is sent to customers.

“A lot of resources and time is spent to ensure the quality of our produce and third-party produce is top of the line. We pride ourselves on that,” he said.