India’s one of the largest E-commerce player Flipkart, recently announced big bang entry in its online grocery store, ‘Flipkart Supermart’ in Mumbai.
Mumbai is the 5th city where Supermart has been introduced recently. Previously Flipkart Supermart was launched in cities like Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad and Delhi.
Flipkart has built different infrastructure resources like it has set up a separate supply chain for groceries in the city which includes fulfillment centres and a last-mile delivery network.
With the launch of Supermart in Western India, Flipkart expects to collaborate with farmers, producer organisations and local MSMEs to create a sustainable ecosystem, add jobs to the economy and bring a superior experience to customers, the company said in a statement.
The platform’s groceries portfolio currently spans staples, FMCG and dairy products, with a private label offering that also offers staples.
Manish Kumar, Head of Grocery at Flipkart, said, “With Flipkart Supermart, we see tremendous potential for us to leverage our expertise in logistics and technology to give our customers the maximum savings, convenience, quality, and breadth of selection.”
Manish Kumar, added, “Our grocery business has grown phenomenally over the last year, making this the right time for us to bring our seamless shopping experience to Mumbaikers. We are constantly working to improve our offerings and are looking forward to excelling in this space.”
As part of the launch, Flipkart Supermart is giving 100 percent free home delivery on orders above Rs. 600, the best prices on top brands, and Re. 1 deals.
The company has also introduced new way of packaging means open-box slotted deliveries for easy doorstep returns.
The launch of Flipkart Supermart in Mumbai assumes significance as Grocery, which is the biggest retail category in India, is also the most under-penetrated among major categories in Indian e-commerce. Grocery, which is the biggest retail category in the country, is pegged at $400 billion with e-commerce accounting for 0.5 percent of it.
Flipkart goal is to tap a large market share of the online grocery segment. It had done a soft launch in the city in February, 2019. It delivers to 91 pin codes in the city which covers 85-90 percent of the city.
It has strategically located fulfillment center in Bhiwandi for groceries. It offers 10,000 products, including 600 to 700 of its private labels.
The Indian e-commerce player first formally announced the launch of Flipkart Supermart last August,2018 after it was acquired by United States retailer giant Walmart. However, it has been looking to foray into the grocery category from a quite long time.
The category can be accessed through Flipkart’s Android and iOS mobile apps, as well as its desktop and mobile websites.