This lockdown has caused people facing difficulties in getting their essential items. Also, online buyers are unable to find slots amid the lockdown but the new guidelines by the Ministry of Home Affairs say that “vehicles used by e-commerce operators will be allowed to ply with necessary permissions” and courier services will also be allowed to operate.
In the early days of the first phase of the lockdown, there were reports that e-commerce companies and their delivery personnel were often restrained from moving around, which hampered services and delivery of essentials to customers.
Now, these online grocers will not be struggling to fulfill orders, several other apps and companies have also entered the fray to cash in on the opportunity and help people receive essentials without having to step out.
Here's a list of alternatives :
Swiggy
Swiggy that had earlier started its grocery delivery services only in tier 1 and tier 2 cities, will now deliver groceries in 125 cities. The service is available on the Swiggy app under the ‘Grocery’ tab. Swiggy has collaborated with HUL, P&G, Godrej, Dabur, Marico, Cipla, Vishal Mega Mart, Adani Wilmers to deliver groceries through their stores.
Zomato
Currently, Zomato is delivering groceries in over 80 cities in India. The Zomato app now features Zomato Market that lists local grocery stores in an area. Zomato has also partnered with Grofers to deliver Grofers’ orders. Consumer goods company Marico too has launched its ‘Saffola Store’ on Zomato in Bengaluru and Delhi-NCR for now, through which it is delivering its range of oats and cooking oils to customers. This is also now being expanded to Mumbai, Kolkata, Chandigarh, and Ahmedabad.
PhonePe
The digital payments platform launched a new ‘Stores’ section on its app to enable home delivery of groceries and essentials and contactless payments for its users. Users of PhonePe just need to go to the Stores section on the app and click on the ‘currently operational’ and ‘home delivery’ filters to find the nearest operational stores.
Flipkart
E-commerce is selling essentials and household items through its app. This includes food, cleaning supplies, personal care, baby care essentials, pet supplies, among others. Flipkart partnered with Spencers Retail for hyperlocal deliveries of groceries and essentials starting with a pilot in Hyderabad where consumers will be able to order groceries and essentials from the Spencers store on the Flipkart app. The orders will be collected from a set of chosen sample stores across Hyderabad by Flipkart executives and delivered to the customer’s doorstep in a timely and hygienic manner.
Snapdeal
E-commerce marketplace Snapdeal is delivering essentials in 96 cities covering more than 15,000 pin codes. Apart from metro cities, the list also covers smaller cities like Agra, Bhopal, Dehradun, Jalandhar, Kanpur, Lucknow, Jaipur, Kota, Nashik, Patna, Raipur, Surat, etc. Snapdeal has tied up with local grocers and wholesalers to make fast intra-city deliveries. It is also tying up with local Kisan Mandis in metro cities so that staples like pulses, salt, sugar, cooking oil and other packaged food items like biscuits, juices can be made available locally.
Shopclues
ShopClues is offering sanitizers, masks, packaged foods, groceries, medicines, and personal hygiene products on its website and app.
Dominos
Apart from the pizzaz, Dominos in now delivering essentials in partnership with FMCG major ITC Foods. Domino’s will leverage its existing delivery infrastructure allowing customers to order everyday grocery essentials offered by ITC Foods. The service is available in Bengaluru, Noida, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, and Hyderabad.
Orders can be places for packs of flour, spices, staples on the Domino’s app.
Paytm Mall
The app is now delivering household staples, hygiene, personal safety products, healthcare products, among others. It has reportedly tied up with several suppliers of essential goods and is adding more suppliers and logistics partners to cater to orders.
Milkbasket
The grocery delivery platform Milkbasket is offering delivery of groceries, dairy, fruits and vegetables, and other household essentials. Apart from this, it has reportedly opened up a helpline for senior citizens to assist them with ordering essentials over the phone in cities like Gurugram, Bengaluru, and Hyderabad.
The senior citizen helpline numbers for Bengaluru are 6366683440, 7619558743; for Hyderabad 8309834392; for Noida 9560303453, 8178738862; and for Gurugram 7505411433, 6305577498.
StoreSe
This is a new grocery delivery platform targeted at apartment communities in Bengaluru. Residents of apartments across the city can order essentials and groceries through StoreSe and get it delivered within 24 hours. The major offline retailers like Vishal Megamart, More, Metro and others have integrated with the StoreSe platform. If residents don't find their apartment listed, they can create an entry for their apartment under the "List your Apartment" section and promote it within their apartments to generate upvotes. The StoreSe team will try to open up the service basis for the demand and total upvotes from every apartment. StoreSe has partnered with cab drivers via leading cab aggregators to enable deliveries.
Box8
Foodtech startup Box8 is now allowing ordering of groceries through its new feature called 'InstFresh'. Users will be able to order essentials including dairy products, fruits, poultry products, among others. The company promises delivery in 30 minutes in cities such as Mumbai, Bengaluru, Pune, and Gurugram.
Ninjacart
The supply chain startup Ninjacart is reportedly supplying vegetables and fruits directly to apartments and housing societies, with the help of volunteers. This new service is available in Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Delhi, Ahmedabad, Pune and Mumbai.
Meesho
The social commerce startup Meesho is delivering groceries, daily essentials, and personal hygiene products through its resellers in Bengaluru.
NoBrokerHood
This community management app by NoBroker has also launched grocery delivery services on its app. The society residents can now place the order on the NoBrokerHood app and volunteers within the society will consolidate the order and ensure smooth delivery by buying it from Bigbasket B2B and ITC. The company says that a single consignment for the entire apartment optimizes deliveries. The service has so far been launched in Bengaluru, Pune, Chennai, Hyderabad and will soon be available in Delhi-NCR and Mumbai as well.