Flipkart enters the hyperlocal delivery space

It is no surprise that COVID-19 is creating a new normal in every industry. When it comes to the retail industry, the offline and the online trades are collaborating to achieve the best in this challenging situation. One such collaboration is Flipkart joining hands with the Indian logistics startup Shadowfax.

Well-planned investments

The Walmart owned e-commerce retailer, Flipkart is all set to make a debut in the hyperlocal  delivery space. Flipkart had already rooted its interest in its delivery and supply-chain muscle for its e-grocery business back then in December 2019. It invested USD 60 million in Shadowfax and an undisclosed amount in fresh produce supply chain startup Ninjakart along with its parent company, Walmart.

Growth

Flipkart will initially start deliveries from its own dark stores, local warehouses and some selected shops. It will gradually be extended to the corner stores and modern retailers within a specific neighborhood. The company  has assured that they will be delivering orders to their customers within a record time of 90 minutes only.

Earlier in the lockdown phase by March, Flipkart was about to restart its grocery delivery service with its Supermarket services. But it was done with strict guidelines issued by the government on the transit of goods and services. Even in May this year, Flipkart was planning for online sales to recover the losses accrued during the lockdown phase. Now, after some relaxation from lockdown, this brand new industry-ready program is proposed to arrive in the great feat.

Competitors

The move by Flipkart is being seen as a counter initiative to JioMart which is expected to leverage on Facebook-owned WhatsApp after the recent investment of $5.7 billion in Jio Platforms by Facebook. It also has another giant competiting in the space, Amazon.