B2B retail startup Udaan is giving Reliance Retail’s online grocery platform JioMart a tough fight for market share. Nearly 45 per cent of the 301 retailers interviewed by Kotak Institutional Equities chose Udaan as the preferred distribution partner, compared with 33 per cent for JioMart.

“Our survey suggests that in Gurugram the headline margins offered by JioMart, Udaan and existing distributors are similar, although JioMart seems to be offering better promotional schemes as well as credit terms,” the report said.

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JioMart has 26 per cent distribution market-share in Gurugram. The research firm, which surveyed over 100 stores, said Udaan is a strong challenger.

It said JioMart has improved its service levels but had headroom to onboard more kiranas on the JioMart B2B and B2C platforms; among the shops surveyed, JioMart seems to have a larger share of the distribution pie compared to competitors such as Udaan, while the latter seems to have a higher penetration (more partner stores) than JioMart.

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“JioMart seems to have captured a decent 26 per cent market share after being in a partnership with these stores for an average of about six months. This is in line with our observations in other markets that we have surveyed in the past,” Kotak said.

Interestingly, all the orders originating from JioMart are delivered by kiranas or retailers; this, according to Kotak, is unlike what was found in previous surveys, where some orders had been delivered directly by JioMart.

Over 43 per cent of respondents mentioned that B2C orders are both fulfilled and delivered to households by retailers. The rest are packed by JioMart and delivered by kiranas. The retailer charges an average of ₹27 per order for home delivery.