The coronavirus crisis may have dealt a body blow to brick and mortar retailers, but online specialists who were growing quickly before the crisis have seen huge spikes in new business. The founder of of Rohlik.cz, one of the dominant online grocery stores in the Czech Republic, has launched a new service to help small store owners get online, quickly and for free. In its first phase, said Tomáš Čupr, he’ll be targeting grocery stores, pharmacies and drugstores. Customers can then order the goods they want and sign up for a time to pick up their packages. This system will allow them to avoid lines and to spend as little time in the store as possible. Čupr is also launching a non-perishable food items webstore (called SuchýRohlík) to service clients frustrated by having to wait up to two weeks for deliveries from the usual online grocers. The new platform will specialize in the goods consumers have been filling shopping carts with during repeated waves of panic buying and promises next-day delivery.
