Online grocery firm BigBasket is in talks with sister company Croma to sell electronics through its quick commerce arm BB Now. “We will hopefully strike a deal soon with our sister company Croma,” Hari Menon, co-founder and CEO, BigBasket said on Thursday at India Global Innovation Connect summit.
He added that quick commerce will become multi-category and a more horizontal play than a vertical play. “That’s what we have seen across players. Imagine getting a washing machine delivered in 10 minutes. Maybe 10 minutes would be difficult, say, maybe 20 minutes,” Menon said.
Menon also spoke about how quick commerce has changed the buying habits of customers. “People don’t want to wait anymore. Or plan anymore.” He added that even a category like grocery, which is planned much in advance, is today delivered in minutes. “There is no pantry stocking anymore,” he said.
In March this year, the Tata Group-backed company announced that the firm will turn profitable in another 6-8 months once the its quick commerce business ‘BB Now’ turns profitable.
Menon is also hopeful of the massive benefits open network for digital commerce (ONDC) will bring in. He said that it will be a game-changer for small sellers.
“Flipkart has scaled well since its inception in 2007. It’s here to stay and it’s a company that will reach the levels we were talking about. JioMart is another company that will start scaling,” he said.