JioMart Expands in India, Challenging FlipKart and Amazon
The e-commerce business, backed by the wealthiest man in Asia, is expanding in one of the most populated countries. JioMart is now reaching out to 200 more cities across India amidst the coronavirus lockdowns.
The demand for online shopping in the country has also significantly boomed, just like in every country under lockdown. The online grocery company, owned by Mukesh Ambani, is looking to capitalize on that.
The technology company expanded its services over the weekend, according to local reports. The company had also previously been doing pilot deliveries in some areas in and around Mumbai.
Jio is part of the growing conglomerate reliance industries of Ambani. It has just recently secured more funds to kickstart the billionaire’s online shopping business.
JioMart and WhatsApp have acquired more than $10 billion in the past few weeks. According to technology news reports, Facebook has put in a $5.7 billion investment in the company.
However, the deal is still undergoing some regulatory approval before it fully launches.
The rapid expansion of the business has now posed a great threat to Amazon and FlipKart. The two companies have immensely dominated the online shopping industry in the country in the past few years.
Both Amazon and FlipKart operate in hundreds of cities in the country, delivering anything from clothing to tech goods.
Local experts say that the companies should be afraid as both have not exemplified great services with groceries. The launch of JioMart could threaten their business in that segment.
Unfortunately, the online shopping industry in India has significantly suffered thanks to the pandemic. The strict lockdown restrictions, which vary from city to city, makes it difficult to make deliveries.
Wide Opening
Modern technology has no match for government lockdowns, after all. Flipkart and Amazon have either suspended or limited their services thanks to the lockdowns.
Both companies have not yet commented regarding the news. Both are also still delivering essential goods around the country.
JioMart may be new to the scene, having been less than a year in services, but its growth is still considered impressive.
The online grocery market in India may not be as big as other countries,’ but it’s seeing a massive spike in demand. The pandemic and lockdown have greatly sped up the growth of the online grocery industry.
As of now, India has now more than 139K confirmed cases and about 4,021 deaths. Considering the growing numbers, the lockdown there will most likely still last longer, according to experts.
