Tata Digital marks its entry into quick commerce with Neu Flash, which is expected to be available to select users on its ecommerce super app Tata Neu, according to people familiar with the development.
Tata Digital did not immediately respond to queries sent by YourStory.
The Economic Times reported the development first. According to the report, Neu Flash will offer categories beyond grocery, including electronics and fashion. It will be powered by the company’s existing hyperlocal operations with BigBasket.
A person familiar with the matter told YourStory that the offering is expected to go live in cities that already have strong traction with BigBasket, such as Mumbai and Bengaluru.
Neu Flash will look at bringing some select SKUs from Tata Cliq and Croma onto the platform for the pilot. Since beauty as a category is already available on BigBasket, Tata Cliq is looking at footwear for the experiment.
Footwear comes with low variability and better brand recall, and, most importantly, it is a strong base for Cliq which is still struggling to get a hold in the beauty categories, according to the person mentioned earlier.
Neu Flash would be based on the hyperlocal delivery operation of Big Basket, and it is expected to be rolled out to loyalty customers initially.
These developments come at a time when the race for capturing and maintaining market share in quick commerce is heating up.
Major players are trying to raise funds for their aggressive expansion plans.
Aadit Palicha-led Zepto plans to raise another funding after closing $1 billion in the last six months. This round is expected to witness participation from Indian family offices and high-networth individuals.
The board of Zomato, which operates in the quick commerce space through Blinkit, has approved the company’s plans to raise $1 billion through qualified institutional placement as it expands its dark store network across cities and categories.
Meanwhile, IPO-bound Swiggy is gearing to list by the end of this calendar year.
