Swiggy To Take On Flipkart, Amazon? Pilots One-Hour Ecommerce Delivery

Food delivery giant Swiggy is testing the waters in the ecommerce segment, dominated by the likes of Flipkart and Amazon in the country, and is piloting one-hour delivery in select areas of Bengaluru under a new vertical called Maxx.

Currently, the vertical has products such as toys, electronics, gadgets, and home and kitchen essentials. The company plans to add products in categories like beauty and grooming, essential clothing, gardening, furnishing and decor, and health and fitness soon.

A Swiggy spokesperson confirmed the development in a statement. “Customers trust Swiggy for the speed and unparalleled convenience we have brought across categories such as food delivery and quick commerce. Maxx aims to be the destination for a wide variety of home and family shopping needs, delivered in 1 hour. We are currently running a pilot program in Bangalore,” the spokesperson said.

The pilot is currently running in limited areas of Bengaluru such as Indiranagar. Swiggy is offering free shipping for orders priced above INR 99, while it is offering a 30­%-60% discount across products.

The move seems to be an attempt by the company to grab a share in the fast-growing ecommerce segment in the country. India’s ecommerce industry is expected to be a $400 Bn opportunity by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 19% between 2022 to 2030.

Swiggy, which acquired DineOut last year, has been introducing new categories to expand its offerings. Earlier this year, it ventured into premium grocery delivery business with the launch of Handpicked in Bengaluru.

Later, Swiggy also launched Swiggy Minis, a platform that delivers niche products across categories such as snacks and beverages, personal care, electronics, bakery, home and decor, pet care and jewellery from startups and small businesses, across select cities.

Amid the ongoing funding winter and mounting losses, Swiggy, like many other Indian startups, has turned its focus towards profitability. Its net loss jumped 2.2X to INR 3,628.9 Cr in FY22 from INR 1,616.9 Cr in FY21 as its expenses more than doubled. Total revenue grew 2.2X to INR 6,119.8 Cr in FY22 from INR 2,675.9 Cr in FY21.

Amid the macroeconomic headwinds, Swiggy said earlier this year that it would fire 380 employees as part of a restructuring exercise to cut costs.

“(We) have already advanced our own timelines for profitability on food delivery and Instamart. While our cash reserves allow us to be fundamentally well positioned to weather harsh circumstances, we cannot make this a crutch and must continue identifying efficiencies…” Swiggy CEO Sriharsha Majety said.

Recently, Invesco, which is an investor in Swiggy, marked down the foodtech giant’s valuation by over 25% to $8 Bn.

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