JioMart Launches Instant Grocery Delivery in Mumbai

Mumbai, 26th June 2024: Reliance Retail’s digital commerce arm, JioMart, has initiated a pilot program for instant delivery of groceries and fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) in select areas of Mumbai and Navi Mumbai.

The service is now available on the JioMart app under the ‘hyperlocal delivery’ section. Initially, JioMart will fulfil orders within an hour, with plans to eventually reduce the delivery time to 30-45 minutes, according to the Economic Times.

JioMart also aims to expand its quick commerce delivery service to include apparel and electronic items over time.

Inc42 has reached out to Reliance Retail for a comment on the new development and will update the story upon receiving a response.

Unlike other quick commerce players like Zomato-owned Blinkit, Swiggy Instamart, and Zepto, which operate using a dark store model, JioMart will leverage Reliance Retail’s extensive network of over 18,000 stores across India to fulfil orders.

The company is utilizing technology platforms Fynd and Locus for order fulfilment and optimization of delivery routes.

Damodar Mall, Reliance Retail’s chief executive for the grocery business, and Sandeep Varaganti, JioMart’s chief executive, are part of an interdepartmental team overseeing the quick commerce operations.

As the service expands to more cities and categories, the company plans to scale up its team accordingly.

This initiative follows reports from a month ago indicating Reliance Industries’ intention to enter the quick commerce segment. Initial plans suggested that JioMart would launch grocery delivery services in 7-8 cities, to eventually expand to around 1,000 cities.

This is not JioMart’s first foray into quick commerce; it previously offered 90-minute grocery delivery services through JioMart Express, which was discontinued last year.

JioMart’s re-entry into the quick commerce space coincides with other players enhancing their product catalogues in response to increased demand for instant delivery services.

Earlier this year, Zomato-owned Blinkit introduced a new category for delivering sports and fitness essentials from top brands like Adidas, Boldfit, and boating. Competitors Zepto and Swiggy Instamart have also been expanding their product offerings.

The competition is expected to intensify further with Walmart-owned Flipkart planning to launch quick commerce services in Delhi, Bengaluru, and Mumbai.

A report indicated that the Indian quick commerce industry’s gross merchandise value surged 77% year-on-year to $2.8 billion in 2023.