Mukesh Ambani’s JioMart turns to WhatsApp to hold sway over Indian grocery buyers.
- ByStartupStory | November 30, 2021
A new “Tap and Chat” option in WhatsApp can be used by Indians to now order groceries from Mukesh Ambani’s JioMart in a way to disrupt the dominance of Amazon.com Inc and Walmart owned Fipkart in the grocery sector. According to JioMart users who got WhatsApp shopping invites, there is no delivery charge along with no minimum order value. Customers can fill their shopping carts within the app and pay via JioMart or in cash when receiving the order.
This move comes 19 months after Facebook’s Meta Platform Inc. invested nearly $6 billion into Reliance’s Jio Platforms unit. Meta’s signature messaging service is rebuilding its brand in India with Reliance’s help, after several run-ins with the administration of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which has accused WhatsApp of failing to police content adequately.
Reliance released its JioMart service in the summer of 2020 in over 200 cities to venture into the retail grocery sector. Many domestic start-ups along with global giants like Amazon and Walmart are already invested in the e-commerce grocery sector in competition with Reliance Industry’s JioMart, offering discounts and instant deliveries.
WhatsApp as a shopping front promises to be a familiar entry point for consumers and retailers alike. Hundreds of millions of Indians already use WhatsApp as a social, professional and entertainment service and won’t have to download or learn how to navigate a new app to start shopping.
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