Mukesh Ambani’s e-commerce app is being tested within the company

• Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Retail is being tested between the employee’s at the company according to a report by LiveMint.
• The strategy is similar to the one Ambani employed before taking Reliance Jio live in India.
• He also has a considerable home field advantage compared to Walmart-owned Flipkart and Amazon India as well as plan to access customers in rural areas.

Tests for the much anticipated e-commerce app by India's richest man have begun. Reliance Retail’s online shopping platforms is currently being tested between its employees before going live to the rest of the world according to a report by LiveMint.

The strategy is similar to the one adopted by Mukesh Ambani — the richest man in Asia — before the launch of Reliance Jio, the 4G telecom network known for disrupting mobile data market with its cheap prices.

Ambani announced his plans to take on Amazon India and Flipkart — the two biggest players etail players in the Indian market — in January, and his progress has been accelerating since. Sources told LiveMint that the commercial launch of Ambani’s e-commerce venture should happen by the end of the year.

Experts believe that, since the strategy is similar to the one adopted before the launch of Reliance Jio, Ambani’s arrival in the e-commerce space will be equally aggressive. But, then again, so was Amazon when it initially launched in India. The American e-commerce giant has been able to capture one-third of the market in its five years in India. During festive seasons that share has jumped up to 51%.

The symbiosis with Reliance Jio and its 300 million users also makes it easier for Ambani to penetrate the market and take advantage of its strong customer engagement — reportedly with 10.9GB of average day consumption per user.

Ambani’s plan also factors in the rural users — one segment of the population that Amazon and Flipkart have been having a hard time bringing online to shop.

Jio Point Stores are being put up in over 5,000 towns to bring in last mile connectivity for shoppers who live in rural areas. Not only will that increase connectivity but allow Reliance to cater to new customers that are first-time users or don’t have an internet connection at all.

Reliance Retail has already been testing the e-commerce portal in Gujarat where it already has an offline network of 1.2 million local shopkeepers. It has also been pulling its brands from the shelves at Amazon and Flipkart in preparation for the launch of its online avatar.

Ambani’s home field advantage over Amazon and Flipkart also extends to the new e-commerce rules implemented by the Indian government in February.

Not only do the laws around e-commerce play in its favour, but having been an offline entity for more than 10 years, the brand already has a network of 3.5 million weekly customers that are spread across 6,500 cities in India.

See also:
Mukesh Ambani is clearing the way for the launch of his e-commerce business

Mukesh Ambani may be the surprise winner from India's new rules hurting Amazon and Walmart

Amazon's newest challenger may be the richest man in Asia