BigBasket Takes On Rivals With Faster Delivery

In a move that could help it better contend with Swiggy, Flipkart and Amazon, online grocer BigBasket has merged its two main businesses of planned next-day orders and on-demand 90-minute delivery. The idea is to supply broader product selections to shoppers in under four hours, Economic Times reported.

The on-demand service provided a smaller product range, while the next-day delivery offered a broader scope of selections. Through the merge, the company will be able to provide over 85 percent of items in three to four hours. It will retain some long-tail products for delivery the next day.

BigBasket has rolled out categories with the inclusion of kitchen, home essentials and beauty over the past few months, in addition to its BBStar subscription program, which offers priority delivery times as well as better prices. The company’s revenue surged 35 percent to Rs 1,605 crore for the fiscal year concluding March 31, 2018.

And, according to regulatory filings, losses narrowed by 60 percent to Rs 272 crore. Supermarket Grocery Supplies runs and owns BigBasket. The news comes as Bigbasket notched $150 million in a fresh round of venture funding, valuing the company at more than $1 billion, per reports in May. 

Alibaba, the Chinese eCommerce giant, and South Korean investment firm Mirae-Naver reportedly led the round of funding. CDC, the U.K.’s development finance institution, also participated in the round. Alibaba is currently Bigbasket’s largest shareholder, having led a $300 million funding round last year. Alibaba is in a battle with Amazon in all aspects of online shopping as both expand around the world.

Bigbasket competes against Amazon and Walmart’s Flipkart in the Indian online market. It has been putting money into its logistics and warehouse space, and the proceeds from this round of funding will go to scaling its supply chain and expansion. BigBasket is in 25 Indian cities,  and aims to expand its grocery delivery to smaller cities and towns to maintain its online grocery market lead.