Reliance Retail’s Revenue From Digital, New Commerce Businesses Jumps 38% YoY In Q3

The revenue from digital and new commerce businesses of Reliance Retail, a subsidiary of Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), saw a 38% year-on-year (YoY) rise in the third quarter of financial year 2022-23 (FY23) and accounted for 18% of its total revenue.

Overall, Reliance Retail recorded a net profit of INR 2,400 Cr, up 6.2% YoY. Revenue from operations jumped 18.6% YoY to INR 60,096 Cr. Further, the company registered a 17.2% YoY rise in its gross revenue at INR 67,623 Cr.

“Retail business had another quarter of strong progress, with more Indians choosing to shop at Reliance Retail stores. We are focused on delivering superior products and value to customers while improving profitability,” said Mukesh Ambani, the chairman and managing director (CMD) of Reliance Industries Limited.

Digital Business On The Rise

In the consumer electronics segment of Reliance Retail, digital commerce orders were up 5X YoY, driven by festive offers, category led campaigns, financing schemes. Meanwhile, new commerce continued its growth momentum and expanded its merchant partner base by 12% quarter-on-quarter (QoQ).

Reliance Retail’s fashion ecommerce venture AJIO expanded its customer base by 33% YoY and catalogue size by 62% YoY during the quarter.

RIL said grocery digital commerce business saw steady revenue growth on the back of festive demand and the expansion of MilkBasket in new cities. Grocery new commerce revenue growth was driven by new merchant onboarding and efficient supply chain, which resulted in superior delivery capabilities for merchant partners.

During the quarter, JioMart saw a robust uptick in non-grocery category contribution and broad-based growth across all town classes, the company said. Moreover, it expanded catalogue and seller base by 71% and 83% QoQ, respectively, during the period.

The executive director of Reliance Retail Ventures Limited, Isha Ambani, said, “Our performance during the quarter demonstrates the underlying strengths and efficiencies of our business model that enable us to serve our customers with excellence at all times. We remain steadfast in offering the best shopping experience across all our stores and digital platforms to deepen our bond with our customers and vendor partners.”

Reliance Retail is the retail subsidiary of the oil-to-telecom conglomerate and houses brands such as Ajio, JioMart, and Trends, among others. Reliance Retail sells items from electronics to apparels and from grocery to footwear.

Interestingly, in its last annual general meeting (AGM), the CMD of Reliance said that he will share an update about the company’s initial public offering (IPO) plans in the next AGM.

JioCinema Gets FIFA World Cup Boost

Talking about its streaming platform JioCinema, RIL earlier said that a record 32 Mn viewers tuned in to watch the FIFA World Cup Final. According to the company, the entire World Cup recorded more than 40 Bn minutes of watch time on its sports channel Sports18, and JioCinema.

FIFA World Cup 2022 on JioCinema garnered a total viewership of over 114 Mn across the 64 matches, RIL said. Of the total viewership, nearly 80% was on mobile screens, with peak daily active users (DAU) of 34 Mn during the FIFA World Cup finale.

The Indian conglomerate is reportedly working on bringing its various digital streaming platforms under one super app. JioCinema, VOOT, VOOT Select, and VOOT Kids may become a part of the Viacom18 super app.

Viacom 18 has also bagged the digital rights for men’s IPL and global media rights for women’s IPL. The cricket tournament is expected to help the conglomerate gain more followers for its streaming services.