Groser

The problem

Neighborhood retail runs on commission-based delivery platforms that take 15–25% of every order, or on no digital layer at all. Suppliers and small retailers need a fulfillment and ordering system that doesn't erode already-thin margins, and shoppers in dense neighborhoods need ordering that doesn't require typing a structured product search on a small screen.

The concept

Groser is a flat $2.9/month hyperlocal retail operating system rather than a commission marketplace: buyers order by voice, photo, or text; suppliers bid and fulfill from a unified order book; and retailers get a dashboard built for local network effects rather than platform lock-in. The bet is that hyperlocal density creates a defensible local monopoly a global commission platform can't easily undercut.

Available today

A real Supabase + PostGIS backend with live Gemini-powered ordering is running:

Multimodal ordering — a buyer can speak, type, or photograph a shopping list, and Gemini extracts a structured order from it.
Supplier bidding — a unified order book where suppliers price and accept orders through a real-time bidding flow.
Admin coverage intelligence — a live coverage map computed from a PostGIS nearest-supplier function, plus KYC approval and forensic order logs.
Built-in safety rules — prohibited-item blocking, a hard lock on prescription-only items, and a language-normalization gate, enforced as named rules in the ordering pipeline rather than left to manual review.
A rider dashboard for manual job acceptance and an Android distribution path via a Trusted Web Activity shell.

Upcoming features

Planned next, ordered by what the flat-fee model depends on most:

Wallet & Payments — an in-app settlement layer; today, settlement happens off-platform.
A branded ad platform for CPG suppliers — today, only self-serve supplier promotions exist.
Live GPS rider tracking with ETA — today, navigation is a static map link.
Push notification delivery — the client and database trigger exist; the sending service is not yet deployed.
A connected marketing-site contact/pre-registration flow and a live AI chat widget on the marketing site — both currently static.

Who it's for

Neighborhood retailers wanting a digital order book without a commission cut.
FMCG suppliers and CPG brands wanting local distribution and, eventually, in-app advertising.
Local consumers who want to order by voice or photo instead of a structured app search.

Platform and stage