Ola Eyes Fashion And Grocery Expansion With ONDC

Bhavish Aggarwal led ridesharing unicorn Ola Mobility is eyeing a diversification of its ecommerce offerings on the back of Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) collaboration. 

The company is working on giving its user base an option to purchase groceries, fashion and apparel via its app, as per an ET report. 

With an ONDC integration, the Ola app will get access to thousands of grocers and fashion and apparel brands across cities already on the network, the report added. The company has also roped in Magicpin as its technology service provider. 

Inc42 has reached out to ONDC for a confirmation of the development. The story will be updated if and when we get a response. 

It is pertinent to note that Ola first joined hands with the network when it piloted a food delivery platform in September 2023. While the company’s foodtech adventure was initially only restricted to its employees, it is now publicly available. In January, ONDC informed that Ola is live on the network in the food category as a buyer app. 

The company then deepened its ties with ONDC a couple of months later when it partnered with the network to offer last-mile logistics services for all categories, including food delivery, grocery shopping, and pharmaceuticals.

Ola’s new grocery and fashion adventure is expected to strengthen its logistics operations on ONDC. With its new foray, Ola will be taking on Pai Platforms (Paytm Ecommerce), Swiggy’s Instamart, Blinkit, among others. On the other hand, startups active in the fashion ecommerce category include  82°E, Beyoung, Snitch, among others.

Ola’s primary competitor for its ride-hailing business, Uber, also recently embarked on the ONDC route. In February, the company inked a pact with the network to explore integration with the network to expand its range of mobility offerings.

The startup’s horizontal expansion plans come at a time when it is shutting down parts of its ride-hailing business. Earlier this month, the company announced that it is shutting down its overseas ride-hailing business in the UK, New Zealand, and Australia. Ola had said that it plans on focusing on India, where there is an immense opportunity for expansion.