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Indian e-commerce giant Flipkart is planning to enter the express commerce space, aiming to offer customers the convenience of receiving their orders instantly after making purchases, a source familiar with the matter told TechCrunch.
The company, which is mainly owned by Walmart, plans to make instant delivery available in select locations as early as May this year, said the source, who requested anonymity because the matter is private. The source warned that deliberations are continuing and the timetable may change slightly.
A Flipkart spokesperson said the Bengaluru-headquartered e-commerce company is “committed to meeting evolving customer expectations and delivering excellence in value, choice and speed, with more initiatives expected on this front in the coming months.”
Flipkart, valued at more than $30 billion, has been steadily laying the groundwork for improved delivery time for some time. It has invested significantly in its supply chain infrastructure over the years, with a particular focus on reducing delivery times for groceries. These efforts have allowed Flipkart to offer same-day and next-day delivery options.
The new foray comes as Flipkart is also engaged in exploring the acquisition of instant delivery startup Dunzo, TechCrunch reported last month. Reliance’s overall ownership of Dunzo has complicated the talks, the report added.
Flipkart’s interest in spot commerce coincides with the ambitious expansion plans of spot commerce players like Swiggy, Zepto and Zomato’s BlinkIt. These companies are aggressively expanding their product offerings, venturing beyond grocery delivery to include a variety of items, from daily essentials to electronic gadgets, in a bid to capture a larger slice of India’s booming e-commerce pie.
Express commerce has transformed from a “next-door offering” to a “core offering” for food delivery companies, Bernstein analysts wrote in a recent note. Analysts said express commerce represents about 40% of the online grocery delivery category.
“Fast trade with a potential TAM of up to $45 billion (about 7% of the $620 billion grocery market),” they wrote. “Serviceable market is metros/tier 1 cities (~17%). Medium to high income households (~60%) and top-up requests (~70%). We estimate the total market capitalization of Express Trade to grow to 6.2%. One billion dollars by 2025.
Indian news outlet Entrackr Reported for the first time Some details of Flipkart’s spot trade play on Thursday.
“At Flipkart, customer focus is at the core of everything we do. We are constantly working to deliver a wide range of products to customers quickly,” said a Flipkart spokesperson. “Over the past few months, we have made several investments to enhance our delivery capabilities,” a Flipkart spokesperson said. Including the addition of same-day delivery in 20 cities. This includes mobile phones, essentials, electronics, home appliances, fashion, books and lifestyle products.
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