EXCLUSIVE: Reliance’s JioMart kirana stores find new revenue stream in supplier ads; merchant base grows 4x

Reliance Retail’s new commerce venture JioMart, which was launched in May last year, has extended its network to over 2,000 grocery stores at the end of FY22. In the last quarter of the fiscal year, JioMart ramped up its kirana network by operationalising 21 smart hubs and 34 staples hubs across India, and adding region-specific assortment for the stores, as per Reliance Industries Ltd.'s (RIL) recently announced Q4 earnings statement.

Kirana merchant base on the JioMart platform grew 4x year-on-year (YoY) during the quarter. Interestingly, a chunk of this growth was driven by new streams of monetisation, wherein Reliance Retail installed TV screens inside the stores to show ads and promotional offers from suppliers and local brands, sources told Business Today.

These ads were customised as per region and language, and enabled kirana partners to benefit from an additional revenue stream. “The kirana partners gained significantly from digitally marketed promotions, offers and new launches in the catchment area. This has increased acceptance of the kirana proposition among several small-and-micro partners,” the person added.

Business Today has reached out to RIL for more specifics on the growth in footfalls and other metrics at the partner stores. The story will be updated as and when the company responds.

Conversely, brands too have warmed up to the idea of promoting their products and offers to a new set of consumers who walk into the stores. So far, the TV screens have been installed in 1,000+ JioMart kirana stores, with RIL looking to ramp it up further.

The retail giant has also deployed merchandising teams in rural and semi-urban markets to fine-tune its local assortment for consumers.

“We have been looking at adding more region-specific assortment, also augmenting our supply chain capabilities to ensure that our delivery times are shorter and more dependable,” Gaurav Jain, Head Strategy and Business Development – Reliance Retail, had said during the Q4 post-earnings call on Friday.

“Our merchant base is up 4x, older merchants have been buying significantly more. Also ordering more and a wider set of product lines. Our merchant partners, small kiranas are really finding tremendous value in associating the Reliance platforms,” he added.

Reliance Retail clocked its highest-ever quarterly revenues in Q4 FY22, surpassing even the festive quarter performance. Gross revenues for the March quarter stood at Rs 58,017 crore (or $7.7 billion), a jump of 23.3 per cent YoY with double-digit growth across all consumption baskets. Its omni-channel value proposition, led by JioMart, was well received by customers, RIL added.