Reliance JioMart Review- An honest Analysis with Pros And Cons

Reliance Jiomart has started to serve in almost all the major cities (approximately 200 ) in India. It aims to target the substantial Indian retail customer base, which looks promising on paper.

So, is it worth purchasing our daily household needs from JioMart, or does it need some improvements?

Let’s explore the answer in this honest Reliance Jiomart Review.

Reliance JioMart – A Brief Introduction

What is JioMart

JioMart is an online grocery channel store from Reliance Retail Ltd.

The prime business model of JioMart is to play as a mediator between the physical retail stores and the consumers.

It will act as an aggregator link, partner with nearby Reliance partner retail stores and deliver the goods to the consumers ordering from their App and Website.

What are the products JioMart delivers currently

Currently, JioMart is focused on delivering household goods, i.e.- 

• Consumables
• Food Items ( Vegetables, Fruits etc. )
• Personal Care Products
• Beverages
• Snacks
• Bakery Items
• Dairy Products
• Home Care Products
• Staple Food Items
• Other retail goods.

Enough of introduction, let’s jump directly into the Reliance JioMart Review.

Reliance JioMart Review

Shopping experience with JioMart Website

The website of the JioMart still reads “Beta Testing” which means that they are still working on improving the user experience.

Although the website reads – “Beta testing”, I didn’t experience any glitch or bug while browsing.

The navigation is smooth, and I was pretty impressed by the feature – “Shop Faster” in the search bar. It enables the user to search for multiple products at one pretty unique go.

I guess why Big Basket, Amazon or Flipkart haven’t used any such thing !!

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Availability of Products

While browsing, I found that products from several brands were not present on JioMart.

Although you will get other alternatives, people still don’t go for some random brands and rely on goods which they consume regularly.

In the staples category, somewhere I felt that there were more goods from Goodlife brand and Reliance own products than other brands.

Also, one more thing I noticed was that the small packages of the products were not available, which is understandable for an online store.

Discounts

Well, I noticed a discount on every product I ordered. 

The minimum discount which I found on the products was 5%, and on a few products, I even noticed a discount of 50 %.

So, overall it has a mixed price structure.

Ordering Process

After adding the products to cart, one needs to register on the APP/website with the mobile number.

Once you put your mobile number and proceed, you receive an OTP which is required to validate the process. Once you verify, you are eligible to proceed with the checkout.

Payment

JioMart supports multiple payment options –

• COD ( Cash On Delivery )
• Net Banking
• ATM / Debit Card
• UPI
• Credit Card

Order Confirmation

Once the order gets completed after selecting the payment process, a message is sent on the registered mobile number confirming the order.

Delivery 

The products were delivered on the next day of placing the order.

Products Packaging and Condition

The delivery was made through a commercial vehicle. 

Well, the goods delivered were nicely packed and were in good condition. The vegetables looked somewhat average ( Although I have a little knowledge of purchasing vegetables and I just go by the looks, lol ).

As the selected mode of payment was COD, thus, I was already relaxed if in case any product was missing or any other delivery issues.

Two of the products which I ordered were not delivered, so I paid accordingly.

Pros of JioMart

• The Shop Faster option in the search menu is very useful for quick ordering.
• It has an option to place orders through Whatsapp, which is unique in itself.
• You feel to get a quick access experience of Reliance Fresh, which is an offline store of Reliance Retail Ltd.
• It is completely Indian, unlike Amazon.

Cons of JioMart

• Products from several brands are unavailable.
• Customer support is not as efficient as per several reports.
• All the items ordered may not be delivered due to unavailability. However, it doesn’t show unavailable while ordering.
• Price of vegetables and fruits are higher than the local market. ( Example the tomatoes were listed at a price tag of Rs. 75/kg whereas I got it at Rs. 60 in the local market ).
• One doesn’t get the option to select the time slot ( at least I didn’t find any ) of delivery of the products. 
• The delivery person calls you 2 mins before for the confirmation of address and hands you the bill. The option to schedule the time slot of delivery must have been there.
• The items are not delivered on the doorstep, and one needs to take it outside the society gate ( this Covid situation, huh !! ).

Reliance JioMart Review from other Customers Online

Although my experience of ordering from JioMart was somewhat above average, that’s not the case with many people.

The internet is flooded with the “JioMart Scam “complaints on forums and review portals.

There are several complaints mentioned by the users online like-

• A few items are missing while delivering.
• Customer support is pathetic, and there is no satisfactory resolution provided.
• In case of payment of missing items done in the Prepaid orders, the left amount takes too long to be credited back in the account. Some people even complained that no refund was provided at all.
• In some cases, users have reported that the delivery report says delivered even when the products are not delivered to them in reality. And people who have selected prepaid mode of payment have not received their money back.
• A few customers have complained that the delivery takes too long ( more than what it shows while ordering ).

How to place an order safely on JioMart

After reading all the views and complaints online, it is very common to have some hesitation while placing an order on JioMart.

Follow the below steps to order from JioMart and stay relaxed-

1.) Select the known branded products only.

I experienced that the products from brands which were not renowned are the ones which are missing while delivering. 

2.) Try not to order Vegetables and fruits

The freshness of fruits and vegetables cannot be assured while placing orders online. Even the price quoted is somewhat on the higher side.

Thus, it is better to purchase them from your local market if possible, than ordering online from JioMart.

3.) Payment Option

Always opt for COD ( Cash on Delivery ) as your payment option. By doing this, you secure yourself from the hassle of refund while missing items, or in the case of non – delivery.

Also, it generates a feeling of relaxation and non-boundness.

4.) Delivery Area

Some of the people I know who live in the outskirts of the city have had a very bitter delivery experience from JioMart, which is quite expected in the budding phase.

So, if you are someone who lives in a rural area or outside the city, avoid ordering from Reliance JioMart as of now.

5.) In case of any complaints opt for Social Media

As several complaints are already reported on several forums regarding pathetic customer support, try to raise your voice on Social Media.

These days Social Media has emerged as a powerful tool for the companies to promote and uplift their brand.

Bombarding the genuine complaints ( mentioning complaint number ) on their official social media handles will definitely fetch some authentic reply from the customer support.

Reliance JioMart Vs Big Basket Vs Amazon

Big Basket, Amazon, Grofers etc. are giant names in delivering groceries in India. With years of experience in this field, they have managed to build a robust consumer base.

On the other hand, JioMart is still in the development mode. So, frankly comparing it with those already established brands doesn’t make sense at this moment.

But still, if we have to choose then, JioMart doesn’t stand anywhere near the well-organised working of BigBasket and the trust of Amazon.

The logistics department of these well-established brands are very punctual, and even their customer service is very responsive.

Whereas JioMart is struggling in scheduling the delivery of the products. Also, the customer service is pathetic. I saw so many forums online ( like Quora etc. ), where people are complaining about the support from JioMart.

Some even claimed that their JioMart marked their issues as “resolved” without providing any solution or taking any feedback.

One big advantage for JioMart is that their retail partners ( for example Reliance Fresh ) are already operational. So, they didn’t have to start from scratch to build a warehouse or stock maintenance. 

This will surely leverage them in coming years.

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Conclusion

Reliance Jiomart aims to compete against the giants like Amazon, Flipkart, Big Basket, Grofers etc. but honestly speaking, it is still in the budding phase.

There are several fronts on which JioMart needs to work and improve to gain the customer’s trust. The delay in delivery and refund, missing items, fewer brand options availability etc. are a few of the things on which Reliance retail Ltd. must work rigorously.

People of India are rooting for Vocal for Local initiative, and JioMart has a golden opportunity to stand against companies like Amazon by winning the trust of the consumers.

People will support them as they did with JIO, but for that, they must ensure better service and support.