Myntra targets 4-hour delivery amid India’s rapid retail boom

Myntra, India’s largest fashion e-commerce platform, is testing a four-hour delivery service in four Indian cities, two sources familiar with the matter told TechCrunch. It’s a significant speedup from the standard two- to three-day delivery time as the popularity of fast-paced commerce changes consumer behavior.

The Flipkart Group-owned company is testing the express delivery service in cities like Bengaluru and New Delhi, one of the sources told us. The company plans to expand the four-hour delivery to multiple cities in India by the end of the year, our sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the information is not public.

The expansion into faster delivery comes amid the rise of fast-paced commerce in India, where a group of companies are gaining market share in categories that include grocery and office supplies with delivery times of 10 to 15 minutes. Some of these companies are exploring returns on items, signaling plans to expand into fashion, a category with high returns.

Myntra’s push also reflects Flipkart’s agility in the e-commerce race in India. Seeing the rapid adoption of fast commerce in India, the Walmart-owned company recently responded by entering the fast delivery race. Amazon, Flipkart’s main rival in India, has so far avoided joining the race.

Myntra, which traditionally delivered products to consumers within 2-3 days, has been trying to shorten the delivery time for the past two years. For example, its Express service delivers products to consumers within 24 to 48 hours in select cities across India.

According to a source, an internal assessment conducted by Myntra found that consumers are much more likely to make purchases when a faster delivery time is offered.

Myntra did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Fashion has traditionally been a tough category for e-commerce businesses in India due to the wide range of products on offer and higher customer bounce rates. Myntra reported around 40 million users transacting annually last year, according to information provided to the Economic Times.

During the trial period of its quick trade service, Myntra is offering customers a smaller selection of products.

Fast-track startups are making deeper inroads in India, drawing customers in with convenience. Zomato-owned BlinkIt, Tata-owned BigBasket’s BB Now, StepStone-backed Zepto and Swiggy-owned Instamart are collectively operating at an annual growth rate of more than $6 billion in gross merchandise value (GMV), according to TechCrunch estimates, up from about $2.5 billion last year.

The rise of fast-paced commerce has prompted many analysts and investors to speculate that it could have a broader impact on the entire e-commerce sector in India. E-commerce companies reported sales of about $50 billion last year, according to industry estimates.

JPMorgan analysts wrote in a note this month that fast-trading companies “are rapidly gaining market share from three major players: offline or general traders, modern trade retailers and other e-commerce players.”

As TechCrunch reported last month, Zepto is forecasting 150% growth over the next 12 months.