Zomato reportedly entering grocery delivery via Grofers, BigBasket tie-up

Zomato is looking to enter the online grocery delivery scene as the Covid-19 outbreak slows down food delivery orders.

The restaurant discovery app is in talks with local online grocery startups Grofers and BigBasket to offer food products and other essentials on its platform, the Economic Times reported, citing a source familiar with the matter.

The new feature, tentatively called Zomato Market, is understood to be rolled out next week.

Photo credit: sharafmaksumov

According to the report, the collaboration may see Grofers’ offline partner stores listed on Zomato’s app. Users will then be able to place a delivery order that will be fulfilled by Zomato.

The service is expected to be piloted in India’s national capital region, though the sources noted that the talks are still in the early stages.

Tech in Asia has reached out to Zomato, Grofers, and BigBasket for a statement on the matter.

Food ordering online has seen numbers fall by as much as 20%. Grocery deliveries and mom and pop stores, on the other hand, have seen a major uptick in demand, as people hoard groceries and other goods over fears of the novel coronavirus, according to the Economic Times.

“The delivery fleet needs to be better optimized at this time of uncertainty. Considering grocery is in high demand, this makes sense for all players involved,” another person briefed on the situation said.

With the move, Zomato will potentially enter a space that its rival Swiggy has had a presence in for a little over a year now. Called Swiggy Stores, the feature lets local small- and medium-sized enterprises list their products such as groceries and medicines online.

The service, which was integrated into Swiggy’s existing mobile app, was piloted in Gurugram in February 2019. Swiggy then partnered with Jumbotail, an online marketplace for wholesalers, in September 2019 to set up warehouses and facilitate hyperlocal deliveries.