In business for the busy

HOW much time can you save? Apart from making more money or climbing the career ladder, finding extra pockets of free time is the major obsession of professionals caught up in the dizzying cycle of work, children, elderly parent care, and chores. But where there's a need, there's a business opportunity, hence a slew of services have sprouted up to help cash-rich but time-poor urbanites get more bang out of their precious 24 hours a day.

While major supermarkets already offer online shopping services, independent online grocers have sprouted up to save their customers the hassle of waiting in line. Redmart, for example, is one such site that has seen business grow since they started two years ago. It is helmed by Roger Egan and Vikram Rupani who started it two years ago, and who "had both lived in New York and frequently used online grocery services," says Todd Kurie, RedMart's vice-president for marketing. "They were surprised to see that online grocery shopping was not yet popular here, especially given how busy professionals are."

Some 85 per cent of their clients are between the ages of 25 and 45, and 70 per cent are married with children. "Using these figures, we believe that at least 60 per cent of our customers fall into the 'busy executive' category," says Mr Kurie.