Reliance tests groceries app with employees ahead of e-commerce platform launch

By

Isabelle Crossley

Published
Apr 24, 2019

As Reliance Retail gears up to launch its multi-brand e-commerce platform, it has launched a groceries and food app amongst employees for testing. 

Reliance Retail has launched its groceries and food app for employee testing, anonymous sources told Mint. The sources also stated that the app’s commercial launch is slated for before the end of 2019.

The business’ upcoming e-commerce site will be an online to offline venture where customers can browse products online and purchase and pick them up at local stores, business head Mukesh Ambani has revealed. This plan aims to bring new customers online and utilise Reliance Retail’s pre-existing network of offline shops and Reliance Jio’s telephone network.

This is far from the first move that Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries Limited has taken to prepare for the launch of its upcoming e-commerce platform. For example, Reliance recently sped up its process of removing products by its licensed international and private-label clothing brands from other multi-brand e-commerce platforms.

Although Reliance’s e-commerce platform will be a late entry into the market when it launches, the platform will have some advantages. India’s two largest e-commerce platforms, Flipkart and Amazon, are both US-owned and so cannot influence their platform’s pricing or sell brands in which they have a stake. As Reliance is an Indian-owned company, it will not have to adhere to these new foreign direct investment norms. The business is also established in India already and has a large customer base offline.