Homegrown e-commerce giant Flipkart announced its plans to offer 90-minute deliveries for groceries and home accessories, as the online retailer forays into the Hyperlocal Delivery space and with this, it enters into direct competition with fellow e-commerce giant Amazon.com Inc in a key growth market for e-commerce.
Dubbed as Flipkart Quick, Flipkart’s hyperlocal service will also sell mobile phones and stationery items, which is a step ahead than the existing quick-delivery services in the market that usually deliver groceries.
Although the company did not specify a launch date, Flipkart Quick will debut in select locations in Bengaluru.
The new service puts Flipkart more directly in competition with the other contenders in the E-commerce world-Amazon and Alibaba-backed BigBasket, both of which provide quick deliveries of groceries. India’s homegrown Bangalore-based Flipkart will also go up against grocery delivery upstart JioMart, backed by Asia’s richest man, Mukesh Ambani.
Dunzo and Naspers, backed by Google and Swiggy respectively will also offer grocery deliveries in India, and given that the times are as unprecedented as ever, these choice will prove to be beneficial for the companies amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, which has compelled more Indians to order essential items such as groceries online instead of venturing outdoors.
“Halfway through the year of the pandemic, supply chains have transformed drastically,” Flipkart said in a statement. “The hyperlocal category, known for being a convenience for many, has now emerged to be a long-term essential service for the country.”
With this venture, the company has entered into the hyperlocal service where it will provide fresh fruits and vegetables and also meat and milk on its platform.
These new business segments will also be driven and operated through partnerships, like for instance, the company has partnered with Ninjacart for fresh fruits and vegetables.
The move also comes at a time when Reliance JioMart plans to reshape the world of India’s ecommerce by optimising its telecom reach to propel online commerce.
Flipkart has started offering its services as a pilot project in parts of Bengaluru where consumers can order in the next 90 minutes or book a 2-hour slot starting with a minimum delivery fee of INR 29.
Last week, Flipkart Group had acquired 100% stake in Walmart India for an undisclosed amount and announced plans to launch a new digital marketplace called Flipkart Wholesale next month.
Aimed at significantly bolstering Flipkart’s attempts to drive growth for
kiranas and MSMEs, it will also add the desired impetus in having an edge in the already-competitive grocery business.
