Ola to enter grocery delivery business via ONDC platform
Indian ride-hailing behemoth, Ola, is gearing up to launch grocery delivery services through the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), a government-supported initiative. Already recognized as the second largest buyer-side platform in the food category after Magicpin, Ola handles daily food orders ranging from 15,000 to 20,000. This volume accounts for nearly one-third of demand in key markets like Delhi-NCR and Bengaluru.
Ola's previous attempts and current success in food delivery
Ola has previously ventured into the grocery delivery sector. In 2015, it launched an online grocery store and a food delivery app in Bengaluru, both of which were discontinued within nine months. The company made a comeback to the online grocery market with Ola Dash in 2021, but it was shut down after a year of operation in Mumbai and Bengaluru. However, Ola's partnership with ONDC for food delivery services has seen 10x growth in recent months, per the company.
ONGC records five-fold increase in transactions
ONDC is projected to surpass 10 million transactions for the first time this June, signifying a five-fold increase year-on-year. The network registered a record five million retail orders in May, an increase from 3.59 million the previous month. It also witnessed an unprecedented 200,000 retail transactions in a single day. The network's transactions are split into two categories: ride-hailing and retail, which encompasses food, grocery, fashion, and electronics.
New-Age companies join ONDC to challenge major players
Over the past 18 months, several new-age companies including Paytm, Ola, PhonePe, Meesho, Magicpin, and Shiprocket have joined ONDC. This strategic move is aimed at challenging the dominance of major players such as Amazon, Flipkart, Zomato, and Swiggy in India's online retail sector. Despite this competition, the food segment's share of total retail orders on ONDC dropped to 20% in May from 76% a year ago.
