Testing the Hypothesis, Part 1

1. Access to everyday items
2. Several students living both on and off campus could benefit from rapid delivery of schools supplies, toiletries, and other basic items.
• The who: college students
• The what: rapid delivery of necessary items
• The why: alternative to physically going out to the store


• Testing the who: While students are the prototypical customer for this opportunity, other Americans around the country could utilize this service. People who struggle to care for themselves or simply don’t have enough time in the day to get things done like the disabled and/or injured, the elderly, and parents of newborns would appreciate having everyday necessities brought right to their door.


• Testing the what: Most delivery services can start to add up once tax, tip, and delivery fee costs are included. To appeal to a large consumer base and remain competitive, this service will need to keep these costs as low as possible.
• Testing the why: For some college students, getting across town or off campus can be difficult if they don’t have a car; relying on the bus can be stressful at times, scooters or bikes can be a nuisance in bad weather, and Uber charges can be expensive. For the other possible consumers, the problem of not having a reliable mode of transportation can make running errands a nightmare.

• Interview #1: I interviewed my sister who is a sophomore in college (ODU in Norfolk, VA) still living on campus. She doesn’t have a car, but does have a bike and lives in walking distance to most things. Her apartment-style dorm building has a stop-and-shop on the ground level (similar to Chomp and Go here at UF), but isn’t open very late. She said she could be interested in a delivery service that could bring her items she wouldn’t feel comfortable having to bike or walk to get at the store late at night. Knowing that many college students share her situation, I think this opportunity still exists.
• Interview #2: I interviewed my mother who works full-time. She thought that it was a good idea for younger people, but doesn’t think she would use it at all or often. Now that she only has two kids living at home, one in college and one in high school, she doesn’t have to worry about running to the store for supplies or having enough time to get things done. Additionally, the rapid changes to infrastructure in Northern Virginia like metro expansions and more road expansions have improved traffic and made traveling much easier.
• Interview #3: I interviewed my cousin who is a third year collegiate athlete. He recently got injured during conditioning and requires crutches to get around. He has a car but he told me he hardly uses it or has to have a friend or teammate drive him to get places. A delivery service might be an option for him because he would appreciate the luxury of having items brought to his front door, but is concerned about the costs. He currently uses an online service that brings is groceries every week because he's too lazy to do his own shopping and it's relatively cheap. If this convenience store could bring him things like Gatorade, Advil, and snacks he would definitely utilize it.
• Interview #4: I interviewed my friend who is a fourth year student at VCU. She told me that a service already exists with this concept, "goPuff". The company has an app that you can shop through and have items delivered quickly, no more than a 30 minute wait, with a flat delivery fee of $1.95. With such a convenient method and low delivery fee, she said that it would be difficult to switch to another service that didn't offer these options.
• Interview #5: I interviewed my grandmother who lives alone but has a caregiver that regularly comes to assist her with day-to-day activities. I explained how the delivery service could be used 24/7 and she believes she would use it frequently. Although she has a nurse to bring her things, she would like to have an option that would deliver things like toothpaste or shampoo when she's on her own. She didn't have any preference on pricing because the convenience of not having to call someone to take her to the store or pick something up for her is enough for her.

After conducting interviews and getting feedback from different perspectives, I realized that this service could be beneficial to more than just college students. So many people are on the go and don't have the time to run to the store when they need something. I also took into consideration people who physically can't always run errands (i.e. the elderly or disabled) that could utilize this service. With such a large population to work with it might make this opportunity easier to grow by keeping pricing down.