JioMart leans on WhatsApp to onboard kirana stores against Amazon, Flipkart

Reliance's JioMart is enlisting India's kirana stores via a WhatsApp ordering link, aiming to blunt the advance of e-commerce and modern retail. The Facebook tie-up unlocks a 400-million-user base, with UPI payment integration slated to follow.

— Filed Sat, 18 Jul, 2026, 08:36 IST · Source Financial Express · BrandWagon · Updated

Reliance's JioMart, operating via a WhatsApp link, aims to onboard India's kirana stores to counter modern trade and e-commerce rivals like Amazon and Flipkart, leveraging the Facebook tie-up and an upcoming UPI payment integration.

Why this matters

Extends JioMart's kirana push, arming small shops against e-commerce via the WhatsApp-Facebook combine and linking 400M WhatsApp users to neighbourhood stores, alongside a planned quick commerce entry against Blinkit and Zepto.

Omni-channel holding steady with 1,153 signals over the past 90 days.