JioMart orders surge 116% as Reliance Retail bets on scale for margins

Bengaluru: Reliance Retail is betting its quick commerce arm JioMart can lift sales in grocery and electronics over the next four quarters, with an aggressive dark-store expansion that keeps unit economics in focus, the finance head said Friday.

JioMart should see scale benefits show up as higher margins and cash generation over two years as it works on acquiring "high-quality customers" who drive up purchase frequency, CFO Dinesh Taluja said in Reliance Industries Ltd's investor presentation for the April-June quarter.

"Basket values grow over a period of time, so that will help improve the overall business and margins," Taluja said. "In addition to that, we will look at the product mix, growing share of our own brands, increasing monetisation and marketplace income."

JioMart's average daily orders surged 116% year-on-year in the June quarter. The active seller base grew 26% from a year earlier. The digital share of grocery B2C revenue rose 13.4% year-on-year, the presentation showed.

Service coverage now extends to over 5,500 pin codes, with more than 2,500 digital, fashion and lifestyle stores connected to the two-hour delivery network.

Increased investment in scaling digital commerce pulled Reliance Retail's Ebitda margin down to 7.9% in the June quarter from 8.7% a year earlier.

Reliance Retail said it will take a cautious approach to expansion. "We will look at various metrics like order density in each dark store, repeat rates, fulfillment costs, and contribution margins," Taluja said. "We have defined targets for each of these and will evaluate on the go. Wherever they don't make sense, we will cut down, so growth will be disciplined."

As density improves and the business delivers productivity gains, inventory turns should improve and monetisation will begin to kick in, Taluja said. That should drive healthy returns on capital from the investments.

"This year, online growth will be a focus but it will be quite measured," Taluja said. "Growth will be funded from existing profits and the absolute numbers will grow."

In FY27, Reliance Retail will also focus on improving JioMart's availability, speed, and reliability, the company said. Investments will be concentrated in micro-markets with a "clear path to positive economics," according to the presentation.

JioMart's commentary comes as quick commerce competition intensifies. Flipkart has been scaling up its Minutes service, while Amazon has expanded Amazon Now to more cities. Zepto is preparing for an IPO, joining a growing list of new-age companies tapping the public markets.

Blinkit led the quick commerce market in 2025 with a 47% share, followed by Zepto at 24% and Swiggy Instamart at 22%, according to estimates by market research firm Datum Intelligence. Other players including Flipkart Minutes, Amazon Now, JioMart, and BigBasket together accounted for the remaining 7%.