Online grocers like LocalBanya foray into Pune; challenge supermarkets like Big Bazaar

PUNE: As more customers are logging on to the Internet or using their mobile apps to order their veggies and groceries, the influx of online grocery stores has entered Pune too after cities such as Bengaluru, Mumbai and Hyderabad. After BigBasket entered Pune in December, LocalBanya has now also forayed into Pune too last month. This has set the stage for startups to enter multiple cities this year.

"Pune has been the fastest growing market so far for us, and in three months, we are raking in around 1,000 orders per day. We are expecting to have around 7,000 orders per day in a year's time in Pune," said Vipul Parekh, co-founder BigBasket.com.

He adds that BigBasket is targeting customers who have switched to modern retail supermarkets such Reliance Fresh, Auchan or Big Bazaar. "These customers find the online switch easy to make and convenient as well. In the next three years, we expect one-fourth of the organised retail customers to switch online.