The surge of the pandemic has contributed to the emergence of the hyperlocal delivery market like no other. Localised lockdowns imposed in states due to the ongoing second wave of the pandemic has led to the ever-growing surge of e-commerce applications for essential products and on-demand apps. In the most unprecedented circumstances, the hyperlocal delivery market has played a monumental role in catering to customer demands amid the pandemic, and one such company that has witnessed spikes in demands is Bengaluru-based hyperlocal delivery platform Dunzo.
“Orders have doubled since March 2021”
With the onset of the second wave, people have readily taken to e-commerce and hyperlocal deliveries to quench the thirst of essentials and other products. This has led to companies like Dunzo registering double the usual orders to cater to customer demands.
In addition to a massive increase in medicine orders, the company has stated how orders of consumables such as groceries, fresh produce and daily staples have grown 318% as of April 2021.
Rise in medicine orders:
Medicine orders have sprung up massively in the past months, as Dunzo states how in its pick and drop orders, it witnessed a whopping growth of 204% due to orders to hospitals along with the delivery of home-cooked meals, oximeters, and other medical aid. The company that its B2B vertical has also grown 2x and has been working with volunteers, NGOs and other organizations to deliver essentials.
Dunzo attributes this doubling in app opens since March 2021 to the pandemic situation as more users seek out the platform organically to order or deliver home-cooked meals, medical aid, and other essentials to their loved ones.
It added that between March and May, over 20,000 orders have been delivered to hospitals.
Plans of launching micro-fulfilment centres
Dunzo revealed its plans to launch micro-fulfilment centres to act on demand, and is looking to service over 700 neighbourhoods.
The company said that these micro-fulfilment centres will have the top 1,500 stock-keeping units(SKUs) from local merchants to provide a “more consistent ordering experience as well as ensure deliveries under 20 minutes”.
The road ahead for Dunzo
With its fresh plans of expansion, Dunzo has its eyes on building the largest online convenience store in India powered by local neighbourhoods and merchants, with plans of expanding operations to 20 cities by 2022.
Between March 2021 and May 2021, Dunzo delivered over 20,000 orders to hospitals. This, along with the delivery of home-cooked meals, oximeters, and other medical aid, has led to an exponential growth of 204 percent in Dunzo’s pickup and drop orders.
This company reached a gross margin profitability and cutting down its EBIDTA loss by 68 percent year on year.
“During the second wave and lockdown, Dunzo’s app opens are up 2x since March 2021, as more users seek out the platform organically to order or deliver home-cooked meals, medical aid, and other essentials to their loved ones”, stated Dunzo.
Kabeer Biswas, Co-founder and CEO, Dunzo, said the company had not lost money on an order basis, and the gross margins were positive. He added that in Bengaluru it had reached breakeven on an EBITDA basis, and the B2B vertical has grown 2x.
According to Dunzo’s Registrar of Companies (RoC) filings, the company’s total revenue from operations in FY19 was INR 76,58,829, and in FY18 was INR 15,80,995. The total revenues were at INR 3,53,69,508 in FY19 and Rs 77,23,176 in FY18.
Striving for seamless digital interactions with the offline world
Going forward on its vision, Dunzo plans on making digital interactions with the offline world more convenient, safe, and seamless with more micro-fulfillment centres in the offing, as it inches towards their goal of 15-minute deliveries, shares Mr Kabeer.
