Russian retailer Magnit has announced a collaboration agreement with Wildberries, the country's largest online operator.
The two companies have launched a pilot project for express delivery of products from Magnit’s convenience stores in Krasnodar.
The partnership will enables Magnit to offer its assortment through a broad online marketplace and gives Wildberries the opportunity to bring its express grocery delivery services to a new region, Magnit said in a statement.
Express Grocery Delivery
Customers can choose from more than 5,000 Magnit products, place an order, and pay for delivery via Wildberries’s mobile app or website. Orders are delivered within 90 minutes, with plans to shorten delivery times to one hour.
Magnit’s product offering will be presented in a dedicated 'shop-in-shop' section, with order picking and delivery handled by Magnit with the help of a courier services partner.
The broad range of products available for order includes dry foods, dairy and meat products, packaged fruits and vegetables, ready-to-cook products, drinks including tea, coffee, juices, and bottled water, as well as popular home, personal care, and pet products.
The partners plan to analyse customer feedback during the Krasnodar pilot before confirming the roll out of the project into other regions
Jan Dunning, president and CEO of Magnit, believes the collaboration will allow the group to "further progress our e-commerce capabilities, attract new customers, improve customer loyalty, and increase the frequency of customer engagement.
"The Krasnodar pilot will allow us to align our business processes and technologies and, if customers respond favourably, to roll the project out to a wider geography."
Online Delivery Projects
Magnit currently operates a number of online delivery projects, both independently and in cooperation with partners. At the end of the first quarter of 2021, e-commerce services covered over 1,300 of its stores in 58 regions and 94 cities, with around 60% of e-commerce revenue generated outside Moscow and St. Petersburg.
Magnit delivers up to 9,500 orders a day and throughout 2021 is continuing to expand its e-commerce operations by adding 1,500 convenience, drugstore, and large-format stores in more than 50 regions across Russia.
The current average basket value for orders made via the Magnit Delivery app is up to RUB 1,400, which is almost 3.8 times higher than in the convenience stores (RUB 372 in the first quarter of 2021).
Wildberries Platform
Wildberries has been developing food delivery capabilities since 2018. In May 2021, Wildberries launched express delivery of perishable and frozen foods in Moscow, expanding the service to include ready-to-eat meals from the capital’s restaurants in July.
As a result of collaborations with new partners, including those operating in other Russian regions, the service will continue to actively increase its assortment and coverage.
© 2021 European Supermarket Magazine. Article by Conor Farrelly. For more Retail news, click here. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
