With grocery delivery being an in-favour category with Indian e-tailers, domestic e-commerce giant Flipkart has also entered the category with the launch of ‘Flipkart Nearby’.
The services, launched silently over the weekend on Google Play Store, has already reached around 5,000 downloads.
The app currently works only in select neighbourhoods of Bangalore. Flipkart Nearby is a hyperlocal app, meaning that Flipkart has partnered with local stores. When a customer places an order, the nearest partner store will be able to fulfill the order.
Also Read: Hyperlocal: The new inclusive retail model
The app has sorted groceries and food into categories such as branded food, groceries and staples, beverages, breakfast, dairy, and eggs. To give a leg-up to its assortment, it also has personal care and household supplies sections.
Consumers can browse through the categories or search for a product directly to select whatever they want. Once an order is placed, it will be delivered to the customer’s address within an hour. The app takes orders 24×7, but deliveries are made between 10am to 8pm. It also offers a COD option.
Lately, all major horizontal e-commerce players have showed interest in the booming Indian online grocery space. Snapdeal has tied up with gourmet food retailer Godrej Nature’s Basket to sell about 400 of its products online. Amazon is testing local deliveries with neighbourhood grocers as partners on its marketplace (starting with Bangalore). In July, taxi aggregator Ola also plunged into the hyperlocal delivery space with Ola Store.
The fresh funding would help the company stave off competition from rivals like Amazon as well as latest entrant Alibaba
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