India’s online grocery market is on an upward trajectory according to Indian analytics company GlobalData, and JioMart will have a major role to play.
JioMart is the e-commerce platform for Reliance Industries, which has a presence in the grocery space through Reliance Fresh and Reliance Supermart.
Reliance entered the online grocery retail space when it launched the platform Navi-Mumbai, Thane and Kalyan in January 2020.
Through JioMart the company plans to connect local offline retailers to consumers on a large scale with its merchant point of sale (POS) solution, where it provides user-friendly digital platforms, inventory management, customer care services and other services required by the retailers.
According to GlobalData JioMart, it is planning to offer over 50,000 products and connect 30m offline retailers with more than 200m households across India.
It is because of numbers such as these that GobalData has tipped the Indian food and grocery market to be the next battleground for online retailers.
GlobalData has estimated this market grew at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 71.2 per cent between 2013 and 2018 and is set to grow at a CAGR of 45.5 per cent between 2018 and 2023.
This growth is supported by a rising urban working population in Indian cities, retailers venturing into non-metro cities and the rapid growth of mobile internet and smartphone penetration, according to the compnay.
Suresh Sunkara, retail analyst of GlobalData, said Reliance can play a disruptive role in the online food and grocery market.
“Reliance is known for its disruptive ideas and business approach, and the same can be said for its latest venture, JioMart,” said Sunkara.
“With its retail wing in cash and carry outlets through Reliance Fresh and Reliance Supermart, and a massive customer base with India’s largest telecom network in the form of Jio, capturing the market is not going to be tough for JioMart,” Sunkara added.
“Being a domestic company, Reliance gets the advantage that Amazon and Walmart-owned Flipkart miss due to the new e-commerce regulations to safeguard the interests of domestic offline retailers in the country.”
