JioMart taps WhatsApp to onboard kirana stores against Amazon, Flipkart

Reliance's JioMart leverages the Facebook-WhatsApp tie-up to bring India's kirana stores online, positioning small retailers to compete with modern trade and e-commerce. UPI payments via WhatsApp's 400 million users are planned to power the push.

— Filed Thu, 16 Jul, 2026, 05:51 IST · Source Financial Express · BrandWagon · Updated

Reliance's JioMart, leveraging the Facebook-WhatsApp tie-up, aims to onboard India's kirana stores and help them compete against modern trade and e-commerce players like Amazon and Flipkart, with UPI payments planned via WhatsApp.

Why this matters

Extends JioMart's kirana e-commerce roadmap, following prior signals mapping a pan-India rollout via the WhatsApp and Facebook tie-up to link users with neighbourhood stores.

Omni-channel activity is steady, with 1,080 signals recorded in the last 90 days.