Swiggy To Compete With Amazon And Flipkart? Tests One-Hour Ecommerce Delivery

The nation's largest food delivery company, Swiggy, is experimenting with one-hour delivery in a few Bengaluru neighbourhoods as part of a new vertical called Maxx. This portion of the ecommerce market is currently dominated by companies like Flipkart and Amazon.

At the moment, the vertical offers goods including toys, electronics, gadgets, and necessities for the house and kitchen. The business soon intends to add goods in the categories of necessary clothes, gardening, home furnishings, and health and fitness.

In a statement, a Swiggy representative acknowledged the development. Customers rely on Swiggy because of the unmatched ease and speed we have brought to industries like food delivery and fast commerce. Maxx wants to be the go-to place for all of your home and family's purchasing requirements, including one-hour delivery. In Bangalore, we are now implementing a trial programme, the spokeswoman said.

The pilot is currently operating in a few select Bengaluru neighbourhoods, including Indiranagar. Swiggy offers free shipping on orders over INR 99 and a 30­–60% discount on a variety of products.

The corporation appears to be making the move in an effort to gain market share in the nation's rapidly expanding ecommerce market. India's e-commerce market is anticipated to reach $400 billion in revenue by 2030, expanding at a CAGR of 19% from 2022 to 2030.

Swiggy has been adding additional categories to broaden its offers since acquiring DineOut last year. With the introduction of Handpicked in Bengaluru earlier this year, it entered the market for high-end grocery delivery services.

Later, Swiggy also introduced Swiggy Minis, a platform that allows startups and small businesses in a few locations to supply specialist products from industries like snacks and beverages, personal care, electronics, bakery, home and décor, pet care, and jewellery.

Swiggy has shifted its attention to profitability, like many other Indian companies, in the face of the ongoing funding crisis and rising losses. As company spending more than quadrupled, its net loss increased 2.2X to INR 3,628.9 Cr in FY22 from INR 1,616.9 Cr in FY21. From INR 2,675.9 Cr in FY21 to INR 6,119.8 Cr in FY22, the total income increased by 2.2X.

Swiggy announced earlier this year that it would layoff 380 employees as part of a reorganisation effort to reduce expenses despite the macroeconomic challenges.

"(We) have already surpassed our own targets for profitability on Instamart and food delivery. We are fundamentally well-positioned to weather challenging circumstances thanks to our cash reserves, but we cannot use this as a crutch; instead, we must keep looking for efficiencies. Sriharsha Majety, CEO of Swiggy, said.

Invesco, a Swiggy investor, recently reduced the foodtech giant's valuation by almost 25% to $8 Billion.