Reliance Retail has begun working towards the next big thing – delivery within an hour.
The Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries’ retail arm is now piloting an immediate delivery service for groceries and fast-moving consumer goods (FGCG) in areas of Mumbai and Navi Mumbai with the goal of fulfilling delivery orders within an hour, according to a report by The Economic Times.
This initiative is part of the JioMart platform, India’s largest grocer and retailer by Reliance Group. The delivery service has been integrated into the JioMart mobile application under the ‘hyperlocal delivery’ option. As more stores are linked to the system, Reliance aims to reduce delivery times to approximately 30-45 minutes. Currently, the shortest delivery time for daily necessities ordered online from Reliance Retail is about 12 hours, with some orders taking up to three days.
Reliance’s latest quick-delivery move comes as it competes with other giants like Blinkit, Swiggy, Zepto, Instamart, and Tata-owned BigBasket BB Now, which deliver most orders within 10 minutes. However, while Reliance plans on shortening its own delivery time, it does not plan to enter the 10-15-20 minute delivery format due to the need for higher penetration of dark stores and a large delivery fleet. Instead, Reliance plans to fulfill orders from its extensive network of over 3,500 stores and warehouses.
This pilot comes after Reliance shelved its quick-commerce pilot JioMart Express last year.
