Reliance Jio aims for e-commerce pie with FMCG tie-ups

Will utilise it's wide user base to tie-up with local kirana stores

Reliance Jio is looking at leveraging its wide user base to help the neighbourhood kirana stores reach buyers, reported ET.

The report states Jio has roped in the likes of ITC, Wipro, Dabur, Tata Beverages, Godrej Consumer Products and Amul as part of this project.

Reliance Jio did not respond to queries at the time this story was published. The news comes a month after former Infosys CFO Mohandas Pai declared that Reliance Retail will challenge ecommerce giants like Amazon and Flipkart through its wide distribution network as well and telecom clout.

"In e-commerce, the biggest threat to Amazon and Flipkart will be Reliance Retail because Reliance Jio is there all over India; they can easily connect to all the small, small retail stores and supply to them and improve their business dramatically," he had said.

Other telcos like Airtel and Vodafone have also introduced a range of add-on services to retain customers. But Jio might go beyond customer retention to grab a large share of the ecommerce pie currently occupied by Amazon, Flipkart and Paytm mall.

It is not clear if Jio’s payment platform Jio Money will drive the initiative. It is a network agnostic Android wallet app. Currently, Jio has tie-ups with wallets like Freecharge, MobiKwik and Paytm to offer cashback to Jio Prime users on recharge. They can also get vouchers to avail discounts on certain travel portals and retail stores. The benefits will be credited to their MyJio account which manages payments to Jio services.

According to the story, users of the ecommerce service will get digital coupons which they can use to buy products at their nearby stores.

Coupons will be brand specific and partner stores will be enabled with software to read the coupons. This service will also help brand partners channel their inventory effectively through offers.

The service is likely to be open to non-Jio customers. Brands will be charged certain fees for marketing through Jio channel.