JioMart, the online-to-offline commerce platform launched by Reliance in May, has scaled up rapidly, riding on the digital acceleration fueled by the pandemic.
The app, which went life in 200 cities across India, is currently handling an average of 500,000 orders a day. At the Facebook for Fuel India 2020 case, Jio Platforms CEO Kiran Thomas announced, “We can go even higher on peak days”
“JioMart is empowering millions of kiranas and small merchants through the simple and secure platform of WhatsApp, and linking them to Reliance Retail’s pan-India supply chain. We expect to grow manifold in future and are optimistic about enabling new cohorts of users and making it easier for them to shop for daily essentials.
“Through the simple and secure WhatsApp platform, JioMart empowers millions of kiranas and small merchants and links them to the pan-India supply chain of Reliance Retail. In the future, we expect to grow manifold and are optimistic about allowing new user groups and making it easier for them to shop for daily essentials.
“Customers are transacting seamlessly on JioMart and the conversational nature of the service enabled by WhatsApp has made people adapt to it intuitively,” he added.
Reliance also reported that JioMart, which it calls ‘Desh Ki Nayi Dukaan’, will continue to add new characteristics. In a fast-expanding e-grocery market, the ‘fresh commerce’ platform is taking on the likes of Bigbasket, Amazon Pantry, and others.
JioMart is second only to Bigbasket in terms of SKUs and Amazon Pantry in geographical scope within a couple of months of launch.
JioMart blends the sourcing power of Reliance Retail through staples, fresh produce, frozen foods, edible oils, and other daily necessities, and the vast scope of WhatsApp between kiranas and corner stores that dominate the lion’s share of India’s retail pie.
The platform was released with a range of 50,000 “five percent below MRP” items available, with free delivery and no minimum cart value. Non-essential categories like electronics and consumer durables are now being added by JioMart.
Reliance’s retail aspirations received a big boost earlier this year with Facebook’s $5.7 billion investment in Jio Platforms. The latter now owns almost 10 percent of Jio.
“JioMart aspires to serve tens of millions of small shopkeepers in India, who are the bedrock of employment”JioMart aims to serve tens of millions of small shopkeepers in India, who are the bedrock of employment.
“Jio brings digital connectivity, WhatsApp now with WhatsApp Pay brings digital interactivity, and the ability to close transactions and create value and JioMart brings the unmatched online and offline retail opportunity that gives small merchants in villages and small towns a chance to digitise and be at par with anybody else in the world,” Ambani added.