Reliance Retail Launches Online Grocery Store, Starts Service in Mumbai

Reliance Retail, in a bid to expand its reach, has quietly entered the e-commerce market with the launch of an online store from where consumers can shop for groceries, vegetables and various other items.

The online grocery store, called Reliance Fresh Direct, will deliver the items shopped for by the user, on the given address. Users can order from more than 6,000 grocery products including fruits & vegetables, rice, dals, oil, packaged food, bakery and dairy items, frozen and pet food, household cleaning items, and specialised beauty & personal care products.

"Taking another leap ahead, Reliance Fresh Direct makes your grocery shopping even simpler by bringing it to your door step. No more hassles of sweating it out in crowded markets & grocery shops & supermarkets - now shop in comfort of your home; office or on the move & select from a wide range of 6000+ products," added the website's 'About' page.

To start shopping online, users would need to create a Reliance Fresh Direct account. Users will also be able to add items to a wishlist, get advance notice on promotional items, check order status, and maintain personal address books. Notably, customers can schedule their deliveries, which is a free service if the order being placed is above Rs. 750.

For now, the service is limited to areas including Navi Mumbai, South Mumbai and Thane. The methods of payment for orders are net banking, credit/debit cards, cash on delivery, store credit and meal coupons. Some of the other big players in the e-commerce market are Amazon, Flipkart, Snapdeal, and Jabong, but none so far have started an online grocery store.