Reliance Retail Ramps Up Quick Commerce with 600 Dark Stores Across India

In a major push to dominate India’s fast-growing quick commerce space, Reliance Retail has operationalised over 600 dark stores nationwide, reinforcing its strategy to deliver hyper-local orders in under 30 minutes.

The dark stores — warehouses used exclusively to fulfill online orders — are a critical part of Reliance's logistics network, enabling its e-commerce arm JioMart to scale up its rapid delivery capabilities across more than 5,000 pin codes and over 1,000 cities.

Responding to an analyst query following the company’s quarterly results, Reliance Retail Chief Financial Officer Dinesh Taluja said the company is continuing to invest in expanding its dark store network to meet growing demand. “JioMart is uniquely positioned with an extensive physical store presence and dark stores in key locations,” he added.

Reliance’s aggressive expansion appears to be paying off. JioMart recorded a 42% quarter-on-quarter and over 200% year-on-year growth in average daily orders. The platform also added 5.8 million new customers during the quarter — marking a 120% jump from the previous quarter.

JioMart, which competes with established quick commerce players such as Zomato-owned Blinkit, Swiggy Instamart, and BigBasket, has likely become the country’s largest hyper-local delivery platform by reach, leveraging a hybrid model of over 3,000 Reliance Retail stores and a growing network of dark stores.

The quick commerce initiative has now expanded beyond groceries. Reliance Retail recently extended its 30-minute delivery promise to include electronics and accessories in 10 cities.

Taluja noted that while deliveries are fulfilled within a three-kilometre radius using Reliance Retail’s store network, dark stores are deployed strategically in areas with high order volumes or where existing stores cannot meet the 30-minute delivery benchmark.

Reliance Retail currently operates 19,821 stores across 77.8 million sq ft of retail space in India. The company is further scaling operations to bolster coverage and service levels through both traditional retail formats and digital channels.

In the September quarter, Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd (RRVL), the retail arm of Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries, posted an 18% rise in gross revenue at ₹90,018 crore, with profit after tax climbing 21.9% to ₹3,457 crore. For the financial year 2024-25, the company reported a gross revenue of ₹3.3 lakh crore.

Reliance’s rapid expansion in quick commerce reflects broader ambitions to consolidate leadership in India’s evolving digital-first retail ecosystem, where speed, scale, and customer experience are increasingly becoming key differentiators.