Flipkart launches 90-minute hyperlocal delivery service, faster than Amazon

Next time you order an Apple iPhone on Flipkart, you might get it delivered in 90 minutes. The Walmart-owned e-commerce company said it has launched a hyperlocal service - ‘Flipkart Quick’ to be able to do that, building on its technological capabilities and supply chain infrastructure.

Flipkart Quick will provide consumers with a handpicked assortment of more than 2,000 products in categories such as grocery, fresh, dairy and meat in the first phase. The other categories include mobiles, electronics accessories, stationery items and home accessories. Consumers can choose to order in the next 90 minutes or book a 2-hour slot according to their convenience. 

“We are going to deliver mobile phones, speakers and chargers in 90 minutes,” said Sandeep Karwa, vice-president, Flipkart, in an interview. “With Flipkart Quick, we have the potential to bring together the whole network of neighbourhood kirana stores onto our platform with just a click,” he said. 

He said 90-minute delivery time is the best in the industry and faster than Flipkart’s competitors, including Amazon.

Customers can place orders at any time of the day, and get their orders delivered between 6 am to midnight; starting with a minimum delivery fee of Rs 29.

Hyperlocal capabilities can be described simply as building connections between locally available products and consumers in a particular area.

“If I am looking forward to playing table tennis with my son, I can buy those rackets and get them delivered very quickly,” said Karwa.

The move will place Flipkart in direct competition with players such as Swiggy, Google-backed Dunzo, BigBasket and Grofers. The hyperlocal delivery model aims to tap new consumers by widening the accessibility of products and enabling consumers to order products from Flipkart hubs in their location, ensuring quick delivery.

“Dunzo and Swiggy have built an amazing logistics capability. But what we're providing is a complete end to end solution,” said Karwa. “It's about ensuring that the seller on our platform always has that inventory. It's not the guesswork that you place an order and then someone goes to the store to see if it is available,” he said.

Karwa said the company has started with its dark store (no-walk-in) model, wherein it enables sellers to store inventory close to the consumer. He said this model has the potential of encouraging local entrepreneurship and enabling new business strategies and partnerships.

Flipkart's decision to launch hyper-local service comes at a time when the company recently received an additional investment of $1.2 billion from Walmart. The firm also acquired Walmart India giving it access to 1.5 million partners which include small businesses and kiranas. The company also launched Flipkart Wholesale — a new digital marketplace that looks to transform the kirana retail ecosystem by leveraging technology. Experts said all these developments are expected to help it compete with larger rivals including Amazon and Reliance Industries Limited's e-commerce venture JioMart.

Flipkart Quick will debut in Bengaluru in select locations, including Whitefield, Panathur, HSR Layout, BTM Layout, Banashankari, KR Puram and Indiranagar. It will expand to 6 other cities in the next few months.

Flipkart Quick will adopt a latitude and longitude approach that will not only narrow down the location to be more precise, but will also result in sharper delivery time. Moving away from the traditional model of using a pin-code system to identify the delivery location, which can span across a larger area, Flipkart Quick will use innovative and advanced technology for location mapping. This technology promises to not only speed up the last mile process, but also bring more accuracy to the address mapping system. This avoids the chances of mismatch or re-attempts.

Retail in India, both online and offline, has been witnessing radical changes over the past two years. However, over the last 50 days or so, Flipkart said it has witnessed unique innovations and business models emerge with greater agility and operational efficiencies. Halfway through the year of the pandemic, supply chains have transformed drastically. The company said the hyperlocal category, known for being a convenience for many, has now emerged to be a long-term essential service for the country. It has led to a significant change in consumer psyche and expectations. The Indian hyperlocal market has the potential to exceed Rs 2,306 crore by 2020 (pre-covid industry estimates).

• Flipkart launches hyperlocal service called  ‘Flipkart Quick’
• It aims to deliver products ranging from grocery, dairy, meat to mobile phones in 90 minutes.
• Customers can place orders at any time of the day.
• They can get their orders delivered between 6 am to midnight; minimum delivery fee is Rs 29.
• Beginning with Bengaluru, Flipkart Quick will expand to 6 other cities in the next few months.
• Flipkart Quick has huge potential to digitize kiranas by bringing them onto e-commerce marketplace.
• The move will place Flipkart in direct competition with players such as Swiggy, Google-backed Dunzo, BigBasket and Grofers.