A few days ago, Facebook acquired 9.99% shares in Reliance Jio. This is the biggest minority shareholder in the Indian company. Facebook’s daughter company, WhatsApp also made a commercial agreement with JioMart.
As a result, the e-commerce platform operated by Reliance Retail named JioMart has introduced a new WhatsApp Order Booking Service. Now, this service is introduced in India during the lockdown.
The services have started in some areas of Mumbai including Thane, Navi Mumbai, and Kalyan. A new dedicated WhatsApp number for JioMart has been launched. As per government order, now it is taking orders for essential goods only and promising availability within 48 hours.
Currently, WhatsApp has 400 million users in India. So Jio wants to reach out to the vast network of small grocery stores in India through this.
Users need to save the JioMart number on their smartphones to be able to order items.
Please note that the service will not deliver items on your home. You will have to go to the nearest kirana (grocery) store to pick up the delivery.
How to order from JioMart on WhatsApp
Here’s a step-by-step guide to know how to order on JioMart via WhatsApp.
First, save this number +91 88500 08000 as JioMart on your phone.
After saving the number on your smartphone, open your WhatsApp app. Now search for the contact (JioMart) that you just saved. Once you find that contact then taps on it as you do usually to chat with a new person. If you don’t find the contact inside WhatsApp then refresh your contacts list. Tap on the new chat icon and then the three vertical dots on top, and then tap on Refresh.
Once you are inside the chat area just send a ‘Hi’ message.
Instantly you will get an auto-generated message will come to you. The message will say that the service is now available in Navi Mumbai, Thane, and Kalyan only.
There is also instruction like, the user who placed orders using JioMart before 7 pm can pick up their items at the nearest JioMart Kirana store within the next 2 days.
Then you will have a unique link on the same auto-generated message. This link will expire in 30 minutes. Users can click on that link and place the order. If not used the link within 30 minutes, it will be deactivated automatically and the user will have to send a ‘Hi’ message on the same number once again to generate a new link.
Once you click on the link that comes with the message, a dedicated JioMart page opens up in your default browser. This page will ask you to fill some basic information like mobile number, address, etc.
Fill in all the necessary details and click on ‘Proceed’.
Then a new page will open with the list of grocery items. You would find that some items are missing in the list. But JioMart will improve the inventory over time. You can add items to your cart. After adding items on your cart, you can place the order.
Once you successfully place the order, JioMart shows you the total payable amount and sends you another WhatsApp message instantly.
With this message, JioMart will send the invoice and the grocery store’s address and location on Google Maps. You will also get a phone number of that store for any related inquiries. When the order is ready, you will receive an SMS from the store.
Then you can head to the kirana store and collect the delivery. You will have to make the payment at the time of pickup.
JioMart was launched in January this year to compete with e-commerce platforms like Amazon and Flipkart in India. It also targets online grocery delivery services like Grofers, BigBasket, etc.
JioMart platform adding small merchants and kirana shops to serve Indian consumers.
There is no minimum or maximum order limit now. The service is now available in limited areas only. It will be expanded throughout India soon.