Reliance Retail’s JioMart to deliver groceries in 30 mins from next month

The country’s largest grocer and retailer, Reliance Retail’s JioMart, which belongs to billionaire Mukesh Ambani, is turning up the heat and will now narrow its delivery time to 30 minutes as quick commerce gains traction.

It will start 30-minute delivery in the top 8 metros within the next month and will quickly scale up to the top 20-30 cities, which is phase one of its quick delivery. The first phase will be the first one or two months, and it will gradually expand to the rest of the country, according to a source in the know.

Orders will be serviced from its network of stores, which currently stands at over 3,500. However, the company doesn’t plan on opening dark stores and also doesn’t intend to get into the race of 10-15-20 minute delivery formats.

Last year, the company piloted 90-minute delivery under the JioMart Express format in Navi Mumbai, which it tested with its employees and select customers.

The source added that the company gained an understanding of the integration of technology to hasten deliveries.

It is in the process of hiring more delivery associates and will also partner with a third-party EV bike logistics player to ramp up deliveries.

Reliance Retail will also use its own logistics company, Grab, to ensure deliveries reach customers within half an hour.

While it is starting with 30-minute deliveries for groceries, it may look at scaling it up to other categories like electronics and fashion as well, the source added.

Currently, Swiggy, Zepto, and Blinkit are the main players in the quick commerce space.

Post the January-March quarter, the oil-to-telecom conglomerate said in its earnings release, “The platform launched new functionalities to enhance the shopping experience, including a ‘Buy Again’ widget, customer rating for products, and more.”

It also said that JioMart delivered a steady performance during the quarter with an expansion of the seller base, up 94 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) and live selection up 32 per cent Y-o-Y.

It closed FY24 with a total of 1,88,361 stores across formats and categories, and its footfalls stood at 1,063 million.

Its gross revenue for FY24 stood at Rs 3,06,786 crore, registering a growth of 17.8 per cent over last year, while its Ebitda (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) for the previous financial year stood at Rs 23,040 crore, up by 28.5 per cent Y-o-Y.

Reliance Retail also said in its earnings release, “Investments in boosting supply chain infrastructure and omni-channel capabilities remained a priority as the business continues to deepen its presence in Tier-II towns and beyond.”

First Published: May 29 2024 | 7:50 PM IST