There's still much opportunity left untapped as groceries remain a small albeit rapidly growing segment of online retail. The WhatsApp grocery option sits alongside Reliance's JioMart, which launched last summer in 200 cities, years after global rivals got a head start in Indian e-commerce. Reliance Industries and WhatsApp representatives did not respond to requests for comment. Meta's signature messaging service is rebuilding its brand in India with Reliance's help, after several run-ins with the administration of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which has accused WhatsApp of failing to police content adequately. Like its US partners and investors - Google invested $4.5 billion into the company last year - Jio has put a priority on getting more users connected and enrolled to use its services. Ambani's group has enhanced its position to capture a larger share of that market with the introduction of a no-frills $87 smartphone, which comes preloaded with the JioMart and WhatsApp apps, built in partnership with Alphabet Inc.'s Google. Food and groceries are estimated to account for over half of the nation's retail spending, which is projected to reach as high as $1.3 trillion by 2025, according to Boston Consulting Group. WhatsApp has about 530 million users in the country - Meta's biggest overseas base - and Jio has more than 425 million subscribers.
The service taps into the popularity of India's largest mobile operator, Jio, to reach users and relies on its biggest brick-and-mortar store chain, Reliance Retail, to execute delivery. The move comes 19 months after Meta Platforms Inc, previously known as Facebook Inc, invested nearly $6 billion into Reliance's Jio Platforms unit. Customers can fill their shopping baskets within the app and pay either via JioMart or in cash when receiving their order. Among the daily essentials on offer are fruits, vegetables, cereal, toothpaste and cooking staples like paneer cottage cheese and chickpea flour.
Delivery is free and there's no minimum order value, according to JioMart users who got WhatsApp shopping invites with a 90-second tutorial and catalog. BENGALURU: Indians can now use WhatsApp to order groceries from billionaire Mukesh Ambani's JioMart via a new "tap and chat" option, as his Reliance Industries Ltd challenges the domination of Amazon and Walmart-owned Flipkart.
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