Amid the rise in the adoption of quick commerce services in the country, Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) is planning a foray into the segment to take on the likes of Blinkit, BigBasket, Swiggy Instamart and Zepto.
JioMart, the digital commerce arm of RIL’s retail subsidiary Reliance Retail, is likely to begin delivering groceries in select cities in under 30 minutes from next month, The Times of India reported, citing multiple sources.
JioMart will roll out the service in 7-8 cities in the initial stages, with plans to take it to around 1,000 cities in future.
Unlike Blinkit, Zepto and Swiggy Instamart, which have embraced a dark store model for their quick commerce operations, JioMart will tap into Reliance Retail’s network of over 18,000 stores across the country, the report said.
JioMart also intends to gradually expand its quick commerce delivery service to include non-grocery items.
Inc42 has reached out to RIL for comments. The story will be updated on receiving a response.
It is pertinent to note that this is not JioMart’s first attempt to enter the quick commerce space. It previously offered 90-minute grocery delivery services through JioMart Express, which was shuttered last year.
The renewed push into the quick commerce segment comes at a time when other players in the space are expanding their product catalogue amid a surge in demand for instant delivery services.
Last week, Zomato-owned Blinkit launched a new category to deliver sports and fitness essentials from top brands like Adidas, Boldfit and boAt among others.
Blinkit’s competitors – Zepto and Swiggy Instamart – are also strengthening their quick commerce play by delivering packaged food and beverages.
The competition in the space is expected to heat up further with Walmart-owned Flipkart set to launch quick commerce offerings across Delhi, Bengaluru, and Mumbai. Earlier, the ecommerce giant also held talks to acquire a majority stake in Zepto, but the talks fell through.
Meanwhile, Tata Digital-owned BBnow is also mulling a major investment in the quick commerce space.
According to a report, the Indian quick commerce industry’s gross merchandise value zoomed 77% year-on-year to $2.8 Bn in 2023.
