India’s Online Grocery Market May See 76% Jump In Sales In 2020: Goenka

New Delhi: The Indian online grocery market could see a whopping 76% jump in sales in 2020, compared to last year, feels Spencer’s Retail Chairman Sanjiv Goenka.

In monetary terms, that would amount to sales exceeding Rs 22,500 crore (about USD 3 billion), Goenka said while addressing stakeholders of the company.

According to the annual report of the company, consumers have been purchasing essential commodities and other products from home on a much larger scale this year due to the COVID-19 outbreak which led to a prolonged lockdown.

“The company did not just respond to this sectoral inflexion point with a relevant mobile application and home delivery; it invested in enhancing proximity to consumers through phone call-based delivery, Chatbots and WhatsApp-driven product delivery using its stores as hubs,” Goenka said.

The report highlighted the preference of an omni-channel shopping experience due to increased access to smartphones and low data costs. Besides, the retail chain collaborated with Uber and other delivery partners for product supply, strengthening its last-mile capability. Spencer’s Retail posted a revenue of Rs 2,373.29 crore in FY 2019-20.

Amidst the nationwide lockdown, the company operated 90 per cent of its stores across the country.

Headquartered in Kolkata, Spencer’s Retail operates 191 stores (including Nature’s Basket) of various formats in 42 cities.