Tata Group-owned etailer BigBasket has started testing a group buying model for delivering groceries in Tier IV towns in the face of increasing competition in the category according to people briefed on the matter.
BigBasket’s decision to experiment with community buying, also known as social commerce, comes at a time when companies are experimenting with new ways to expand their grocery and essentials verticals in response to an increase in demand for these categories online.
With this, the Bengaluru-based online grocer will join a growing list of ecommerce firms, including Walmart-owned Flipkart, SoftBank-backed Meesho, DealShare, and Udaan, that have been aggressively expanding their customer base and serving value-conscious users.
“They (BigBasket) have started testing the group buying model in areas what’s often called ‘Bharat’—beyond Tier II and III towns—starting with Karnataka,” a person aware of the matter said. BigBasket cofounder and CEO Hari Menon declined to comment.
“There is not going to be a one-model player (in grocery),” said Arpit Mathur, partner at consulting firm Kearney, when asked about BigBasket’s latest experiment. “Everyone looks at China as a developed online grocery market. There, online grocery comprises 15-20% of overall grocery retail. That itself has four or five different models. BigBasket is an out-and-out grocery player. They would want to have an offering for all types of buyers.
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