BigBasket vs JioMart - A review and comparison

So, a few days ago, Reliance Industries launched an online groceries ordering service called JioMart which is an alternative to BigBasket which is an established player in this business since last several years. I've been an avid "Big Basketeer" right since the days when SRK popularized that term among Indian middle class through that advertisement! And today, I decided to place my first order with JioMart because why not? Competition is not only essential for a free-market, its also in the best interests of the consumers!

Jio-Mart Home Page

BigBasket Home Page

To be honest, the comparison between these two isn't exactly fair. One has experience and expertise of almost a decade while the other is just a new kid on the block. It was only to be expected that JioMart app/website had lots of shortcomings compared to its elder bro, BigBasket! In fact, JioMart doesn't even have an Android App yet, all ordering is done through its website.

However, JioMart has one strong advantage which can help it rapidly gain a huge market-share in coming days despite these shortcomings and that advantage is Pricing. JioMart offers a flat 5% minimum discount on MRP on all their products which is pretty similar to DMart's model, this model helped DMart become an overnight success story in India with their malls being found left, right and center in most Indian cities today.

Workflow

Now, let's compare the workflow of both apps. Both have a similar overall ordering process, you sign up using your email and phone number, select an area or pin-code, add items to cart, click the checkout button and finally do the payment process. However, the devil is sometimes in the details!

Navigation and Search

BigBasket has a much wider variety of categories for products, JioMart needs to work more in this area.

However, where JioMart scores is their multi-search (Search with List) feature. Using this feature, you can search for multiple products such as bread, milk, jam, etc. in one go and the combined results will be displayed!

Wallet/Checkout

This is another area where JioMart must work. In fact, JioMart doesn't seem to have a wallet at all. When I placed my order through COD, it didn't ask me to refill my JioMart wallet or even use any pending balance from there. In fact, no such wallet seems to exist. It didn't even give me an option to apply discount vouchers or choose a delivery slot. It simply came up with a grand total of the bill and presented it for payment.

Update:

This recent HT article seems to suggest that JioMart directly refunds to your online payment method in case there is an adjustment later, and they also have an option of crediting the amount to your "store credit account"

In contrast, BigBasket provides lots of options during checkout such as the ability to apply a voucher, use balance from the wallet, select a delivery slot, etc.

Stock Levels

Another area where JioMart needs improvement. Now, JioMart orders are sourced from your nearest retail outlet of Reliance Fresh or Reliance Mart (unlike BigBasket which are sourced from their own warehouses). One of the items I had placed wasn't available with them, so I received a call from Reliance Fresh and I informed them to replace it with another item. In contrast, BigBasket has an automated system whereby the system automatically removes the missing item from the backend and adjusts your wallet accordingly. Both approaches have their pros and cons but most online buyers prefer the auto-adjusted method than the manual one, I guess.

Having said that, one advantage that JioMart has in this game is that their sources (Reliance Fresh, etc.) are established brick and mortar shops too unlike the Big Basket warehouses, so they didn't have to create their supply chain from scratch. Also, I think their stocks will churn out much faster as both online and offline buyers will buy from the same sources.

Brand Value

BigBasket orders reach your home in a van such as the one shown in the first picture. In contrast, my JioMart order was delivered by a dude on a bike such as the one shown in the second picture. There was no brand symbol anywhere on the bike, nor was he wearing a Jio uniform. Another area where they need to work because brand creates perception which is very important in business!