Bengaluru: In keeping with the times when everyone wants quick delivery at the doorstep, avoiding to step out due to the coronavirus pandemic, food app delivery Swiggy is all set to launch InstaMart. It is a chain of virtual convenience stores to deliver grocery and household items within 45 minutes, reported Economic Times (ET).
The existing players in this space are Flipkart Quick, Amazon, Big Basket and Dunzo. InstaMart will also have to compete with Reliance JioMart, that entered the fray sometime back expanding to 200 cities
ET quoted sources as saying that Swiggy plans to offer about 2,500 items from its partner ‘dark stores’. These stores do not have walk-in locations and exist only on its app.
Swiggy’s pilot will begin from Gurugram and will run in Bengaluru subsequently, ET reported.
Swiggy already operates ‘Swiggy Stores’. This service procures and delivers products from nearby local stores. This service will also continue.
“With 30-45 minutes deliveries… day and night serviceability (7 am – 12 am), a wide assortment across categories such as instant meals, snacks, ice creams, fruits and vegetables, Instamart will address the unmet grocery needs of the time-pressed, convenience-seeking urban consumer,” a Swiggy spokesperson told ET.
“Earlier, a large set of consumers preferred to handpick their grocery items from nearby shops. Now, suddenly, the market is wide open and competitive…It will come down to consumer experience,” a person in the know told ET.