Tata ventures into quick commerce category with 'Neu Flash' service
The Tata Group is gearing up to enter the fast-growing quick commerce space with a new service called 'Neu Flash.' The move comes after similar efforts by other giants such as Flipkart and Reliance Industries. The service will be available to a limited set of users at first, providing a variety of products from groceries to electronics and fashion items.
Neu Flash's expansion and partnerships
Neu Flash plans to expand its services to a wider user base in the coming weeks. The grocery part of the service will be powered by BigBasket, which is moving to a fully quick commerce model. Croma will provide electronics and phones, while fashion and lifestyle products will be handled by Tata Cliq.
Quick commerce: A rapidly growing sector
Quick commerce is growing quicker than modern retail chains such as Reliance Retail, Dmart, and Spencer Retail. This is leading consumer platforms to evolve and provide a larger assortment of goods beyond groceries in 10-20 minutes. Currently, the top three players in this space are Zomato-owned Blinkit, Swiggy Instamart, and Zepto with more than 85% market share combined.
Cautious approach to quick commerce
Tata Group's foray into quick commerce is especially intriguing considering its decision to not go all out on consumer incentives. This strategy is in stark contrast to market leaders who are heavily investing to maintain their market share. For example, Zepto is currently raising up to $150 million from local investors after raising $1 billion in just two months.
Tata's e-pharmacy and retail network integration
Tata-owned e-pharmacy 1mg, which delivers in select regions such as Delhi NCR within a few hours, is yet to fully integrate with Neu Flash. However, some daily use medicines and products such as protein whey are already available for 10-minute delivery on the platform. The Tata Group may also utilize its existing retail store network for Croma, to facilitate some of these deliveries.
