JioMart enters quick commerce race, begins instant grocery delivery pilot in Mumbai, Navi Mumbai

Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Retail has reportedly entered the quick commerce race, where participants are unicorn startups.

According to an ET report, the company has begun piloting an immediate delivery service for groceries and fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) in select areas of Mumbai and Navi Mumbai, aiming to fulfil orders within an hour.

The report said the fast-delivery service is integrated into the JioMart mobile application under the ‘hyperlocal delivery’ option. Reliance aims to reduce delivery times to 30-45 minutes as more stores are linked into the system.

Currently, the shortest delivery time for daily necessities ordered online from Reliance is about 12 hours, with some orders taking up to three days.

Startups like Zepto, Zomato-owned Blinkit, Swiggy Instamart, and Tata-owned Bigbasket's BB Now deliver most orders within 10 minutes.

However, the report said that Reliance, at least for now, does not plan to enter the 10-minute grocery delivery service due to the need for higher penetration of dark stores and a large delivery fleet.

Instead, it will fulfil orders from its extensive network of over 3,500 stores and warehouses. In areas with limited store networks, Reliance plans to collaborate with Kirana stores under the JioMart Partner initiative.

Earlier, Business Standard reported that JioMart is expected to decrease its delivery time to 30 minutes, starting with the top eight metros and eventually scaling up to the top 20-30 cities. This is phase one of its quick delivery strategy, which will ultimately expand to the rest of the country.

Notably, the company is hiring more delivery associates and partnering with a third-party electric vehicle (EV) bike logistics provider to ramp up deliveries. Its logistics company, Grab, will ensure that deliveries reach customers within half an hour.

Recently, Zepto has raised $665 million in a Series F funding round at a valuation of $3.6 billion. 

The latest round was co-led by Glade Brook, Nexus, and StepStone Group. Other significant investors include Avenir, Lightspeed, Avra (a new fund by Anu Hariharan), Goodwater, Lachy Groom, and Contrary. DST Global, an early backer of Swiggy, another major player in the quick commerce space, also participated in the round.