Reliance Jio enters e-commerce space with app for offline merchants
Making its first big foray into the Indian e-commerce space, Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Jio is set to launch a dedicated app for kirana or neighborhood general stores. The app will serve as a one-stop shop for millions of shopkeepers and offline merchants to integrate with Reliance's e-commerce platform. The app will pilot with 5,000 merchants across Mumbai and Ahmedabad and officially launch by year-end.
The app will basically allow kirana stores to get supplies from Reliance's cash-and-carry or wholesale megastores. This will help the company tap more customers in all parts of India. Presently, Reliance has about 7,500 stores and 50 warehouses and by serving as a supplier to general stores, they can be used to fulfill both online and offline channel demands.
Since practicing e-commerce in India is known to be difficult without brick-and-mortar retail, this is Reliance's effort to boost its supply chain and create an omnichannel-focused ecosystem. The company wants customers to be able to shop from any Jio platform, regardless of it being from a website or a neighborhood store. With this, Reliance aims to help organize the traditional retail segment in India.
The app will help merchants manage their inventory, logistics, supply chain requirements, and payments. It will add features for a pick-and-drop to a customer's doorstep. Eventually, it will also allow retailers to file GST by inputting invoices and file claims.
As a test, Reliance has also been helping large consumer product companies like Dabur, Tata Beverages, Hindustan Unilever, and Amul clear stocks by generating promotional coupons on the app. This tokenization is targeted at users in particular areas and pockets. The discounts are offered as a click-through message that takes users to the Jio Money app.
Reliance wants to cater to segments like electronics, apparel, home and furnishing, baby, beauty and personal care, and books. The company's retail business, essentially food and groceries, accounted for 7.8% of its total revenue in FY16 which was pegged at Rs. 2.76 trillion.
