Reliance Retail’s q-commerce ace: Small-town India

Strategy mirrors telecom playbook: Enter late but leverage scale and financial muscle to shift industry economics

- ANEES HUSSAIN

IT'S A NEWCOMER in India’s fiercely competitive quick commerce club, but Reliance Retail has already packed a punch that threatens to disrupt incumbents such as Blinkit, Swiggy Instamart and Zepto even as they are scaling rapidly after fresh capital infusions.

In its recent post-earnings commentary, Reliance said its omnichannel retail network gives it a structural edge as JioMart transitions to a half-hour delivery model, supported by an expanding grid of dark stores.