JioMart is neither delivering orders to your doorstep nor cancelling orders

• JioMart recently launched a WhatsApp number from where consumers can place orders.
• Once you place an order, JioMart will send you a message about the nearest Kirana shop from where you can pick up the order.
• In the current version, you can’t cancel the order once placed.

Mukesh Ambani’s e-commerce debut JioMart has been running a pilot programme in Navi Mumbai, Thane and Kalyan. Customers just need to add JioMart’s WhatsApp number (88500 08000) on their phones and by sending a ‘hi’ message they will be given a link to place orders.

However, there are several issues in the current pilot. First of all, JioMart isn’t delivering orders to your doorstep. Once you place an order, JioMart will send you a message about the nearest Kirana shop from where you can pick up the order. So, this in itself fails the purpose of an online delivery and instead works as a service where you can pre-book your essentials.

But that’s not all. Currently, you can only pay by cash or any form, directly to the kirana. When you are placing orders on the webpage link, you are just asked to proceed but it doesn’t let you confirm the order. Moreover, you can’t cancel the order once placed. You will have to call the kirana and cancel or modify it.

JioMart’s WhatsApp integration comes days after its parent company Reliance and WhatsApp’s parent Facebook signed a mega deal. Facebook invested a whopping $5.7 billion in Reliance Jio. One of the most significant factors of the deal was that Reliance Retail and WhatsApp are now in a commercial partnership to accelerate JioMart’s growth. Through JioMart and WhatsApp, the entities will now help support consumer businesses.

“The companies will work closely to ensure that consumers are able to access the nearest kiranas who can provide products and services to their homes by transacting seamlessly with JioMart using WhatsApp,” Reliance had said in a statement.

In December 2019, Reliance JioMart had started calling for pre-registrations from users promising savings of as much as ₹3,000. JioMart’s debut is a threat to several e-commerce players who have been scaling up their grocery retail operations like – Amazon, Flipkart to startups like BigBasket, Grofers, Swiggy, Dunzo.

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