JioMart Rolls Out Pilot In Mumbai, Navi Mumbai For Grocery Delivery In An Hour

Reliance Retail’s digital commerce arm JioMart has reportedly rolled out a pilot for instant delivery of groceries and fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) products in some parts of Mumbai and Navi Mumbai.

The service is now live on the JioMart app under the ‘hyperlocal delivery’ section. While JioMart will deliver orders within an hour in the initial stages, it plans to reduce the delivery time to 30-45 minutes at a later stage, the Economic Times reported.

JioMart also intends to gradually expand its quick commerce delivery service to include apparel and electronic items.

Inc42 has reached out to Reliance Retail for a comment on the development. The story will be updated on receiving a response.

Unlike Zomato-owned Blinkit, Swiggy Instamart and Zepto, which have embraced a dark store model for their quick commerce operations, JioMart will bank on Reliance Retail’s network of over 18,000 stores across the country for fulfilling these orders.

The company is reportedly leveraging technology platforms Fynd and Locus for order fulfilment and optimisation of delivery routes.

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

The company plans to scale up its team as the service gradually expands to other cities and more categories get added.

The development comes nearly a month after reports surfaced about Reliance Industries planning a foray into the quick commerce segment.

At the time, reports suggested that JioMart would roll out grocery delivery service in 7-8 cities in the initial stages, with plans to take it to around 1,000 cities in future.

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.

Its re-entry into quick commerce comes at a time when the other players in the space are sprucing up their product catalogue amid a surge in demand for instant delivery services.

Earlier this year, 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 rivals – Zepto and Swiggy Instamart – have also been expanding their product portfolio. 

The competition in the space is expected to heat up further as Walmart-owned Flipkart is set to launch quick commerce offerings across Delhi, Bengaluru, and Mumbai.

According to a report, the Indian quick commerce industry’s gross merchandise value shot up 77% year-on-year to $2.8 Bn in 2023.