Omnichannel is a geographic necessity, not just a tech choice: Samir Ratanjankar, JioMart

In a country as vast and diverse as India, omnichannel retail isn't merely a technological choice; it's a geographic imperative. This was the core message delivered by Samir Ratanjankar, Senior Vice President at JioMart, Reliance Retail, during a fireside chat with Gaurav Modi of Vertoz, at the e4m India Brand Conclave.

"Omnichannel, first of all, is not a choice in a country like India. It's not a tech choice, but it is a geographic choice," Ratanjankar emphasized. "Because our country is so vast, we are diversified everywhere."

With over 19,000 stores and multiple digital platforms including JioMart spread across India, Reliance Retail has embraced the complexity of serving diverse customer preferences. Ratanjankar illustrated this with a simple yet powerful example: "In the south of the country, you cook your food in coconut oil. In the north, it is maybe sesame oil. In the west, it is groundnut oil. You will have to look at those kinds of data points and serve it."

Customer at the Center

For Ratanjankar, the foundation of successful omnichannel strategy is unwavering customer focus. "It has to be customer backwards. What is the customer's choice? How do they want to buy? Where do they want to buy? And then give it to them accordingly," he explained.

He noted that consumer purchasing depends on three key factors: product availability, pricing, and convenience. To address these, Reliance Retail offers multiple shopping experiences: from physical stores for involved purchases to quick commerce delivering in 10 minutes, and subscription services like Milkbasket for silent morning deliveries.

The Role of AI and Data

Artificial intelligence, according to Ratanjankar, will revolutionize personalization in retail. "What AI will do to a very great extent is make the personalization experience much better," he said. "AI can very seamlessly integrate personalization into the ecosystem where, unknowingly, I as a consumer can get attracted to particular communication and then make a purchase."

Data remains crucial for understanding and serving customer preferences, but Ratanjankar stressed that technology must enable frictionless experiences. "It should not be forced. It should be frictionless for the customer," he stated.

Bridging Digital and Physical

In an innovative experiment, Reliance Retail set up kiosks in smaller city stores to educate customers about online buying. The results were surprising. "A lot of products that we could not stock in the store started getting sold online because of the experience that we gave them," Ratanjankar revealed. This opened new revenue streams while maintaining physical store relevance.

However, he acknowledged that India's e-commerce penetration remains below 10 percent, compared to 40-50 percent in the US. "India will take time, but I am sure it will happen over a period of time," he noted, pointing out that even in metros, customers prefer examining fresh produce physically before purchasing.

Looking Ahead

When asked about the future of omnichannel in India, Ratanjankar emphasized a holistic approach. "It's a mix of all - automation, AI, data has to be there. But again, I'll come back to the same topic. It has to be customer at the center."

His vision is clear: create seamless experiences across all channels so customers can choose freely without friction, supported by the right mix of technology, data, and human touch that defines Indian retail's unique landscape.