Tatas to Enter the Trending Quick Commerce Industry with 'Neu Flash'

Tatas is the latest ecommerce incumbent to jump on the ultra-fast delivery bandwagon, following Flipkart and Reliance Industries (RIL), as customer demand in metros continues to rise. According to sources, the Tata group's ecommerce business Neu is planning to join the quick commerce market with Neu Flash, which will be available to select users selling groceries, electronics, and apparel. Neu Flash will gradually reach more users in the next weeks.

For groceries, Neu Flash will be powered by BigBasket, which is transitioning to a fully-quick commerce model, while Croma sells electronics and phones, and Tata Cliq will handle fashion and lifestyle products beginning with specific stock keeping units.

This is the latest attempt by the Mumbai-based steel-to-salt giant to target online buyers. Zomato-owned Blinkit, Swiggy Instamart, and Zepto are the top three players, accounting for more than 85% of the market share. Flipkart has a service called Minutes, and Reliance JioMart is testing it again after deciding to discontinue its 90-minute delivery under JioMart Express.

According to a recent Bernstein report, quick commerce is challenging ecommerce and other types of retail, as it grows faster than modern retail chains such as Reliance Retail, Dmart, and Spencer Retail. This is one of the reasons why consumer platforms are responding to the change by developing platforms capable of delivering a wide range of goods other than groceries in 10-20 minutes.

"There is a lot of work going on around here. Cliq is planned to launch on both Neu Flash and BigBasket. A spokesman said that strategic brand relationships are also being formed.

Tata Neu's attitude to the rapid commerce industry will be fascinating, given the firm has made a call to be cautious about large spending on customer incentives. Simultaneously, the industry leaders are flush with cash and are going all out to gain market share. Zepto, which is raising up to $150 million from local investors after raising $1 billion in two months, has emerged as a contender to market leader Blinkit, which has a 40% market share, according to various brokerages.

Tata-owned epharmacy 1mg, which delivers in a few hours in specific areas including as Delhi NCR, has yet to go fully online on Neu Flash. Certain daily-use headache medications and supplies, such as protein whey, are accessible for 10-minute delivery on the platform. According to sources, Tatas may also tap into Croma's existing retail shop network to enable some of these deliveries, noting that the stores are already set up for same-day and next-day delivery.

"Yes, there is so much demand and buzz that it needs to be addressed. Quick commerce, unlike in other global marketplaces, has taken off in India on demand, and certain users at least in metros are willing to pay for the convenience," according to another person familiar with Neu Flash's plans.