Launching a Grocery Marketplace: The Complete Pre-Launch Checklist

Register a clean domain and point DNS early — SSL issuance and propagation still take time you don't want to spend on launch week. Provision a server sized for your city's expected order volume, not your ambitions for year three.

Google Play and Apple App Store accounts are the most common launch blockers. Apple developer verification alone can take days to weeks, so create both accounts (and complete identity verification) as the very first step.

Aim for a few hundred well-presented SKUs before launch rather than thousands of empty entries. Every product needs a photo, price, unit of measurement and stock status. Categories should mirror how your customers actually think — vegetables, dairy, snacks — not how wholesalers organize warehouses.

Decide your pricing and delivery-fee model upfront: flat fees, distance-based charges or free-above-threshold all change customer behavior in measurable ways.

Complete payment gateway KYC early — Razorpay, Stripe, Paystack and similar providers each have their own approval timeline. Configure COD rules deliberately: minimum order values and serviceability limits protect you from losses.

Publish privacy policy, terms of service, refund policy and shipping policy pages before launch. App stores increasingly expect them, and customers look for them.

Onboard riders before you onboard customers. Test the full loop yourself: place an order, watch it reach the vendor dashboard, accept it, dispatch a rider and track it to delivery. Then do it again with a real transaction.

Define your service hours, slot capacity and out-of-stock handling policy. Operational clarity beats operational perfection at launch.

Prepare launch-week content: social accounts, local WhatsApp groups, flyer QR codes that deep-link to app stores, and a simple referral offer. Track where the first hundred customers come from — doubling down on what works beats spreading thin.

Finally, plan your support channel. A WhatsApp number answered within minutes converts more customers than any ad budget.