New Delhi: ride-hailing platform Hailstone According to sources, it has started expedited delivery service for items like grocery, personal care and pet care products in Bengaluru, marking its entry into the expedited commerce space. Sources said that Ola is making its ‘pilot’ debut.Ola Store’ Starting with a few key localities in Bengaluru, and then expanding to major cities in India in the coming months.

He said the service aims to deliver in less than 15 minutes.

When contacted, Ola declined to comment.

Sources said the service is available within the Ola app and is rolling out to select consumers in Bengaluru.

Customers will be able to order from an assortment of nearly 2,000 items across multiple categories including groceries, beverages, home and personal care as well as pet care products. Sources said these would be delivered from dark stores strategically placed in key parts of the city.

while the traditional e-commerce While delivery takes a day or more, accelerated commerce (or Q-commerce) enables customers to get smaller quantities of goods to customers in a shorter amount of time. Some of the players in the segment include Dunzo and Swiggy Instamart.

According to a report by RedSeer, the accelerated commerce sector in India is expected to grow to $5 billion by 2025 from the current $0.3 billion.

Trends in consumer behavior such as the shift from price demand to convenience demand have led to weekly, smaller sized purchases than large, monthly purchases; Big players like BigBasket and Grofers; And the rise of instant delivery platforms, which have allowed consumers to complete top-up / unplanned (on-demand) purchases within an hour of placing an order, are helping this segment grow.

Ola, powered by ANI Technologies, also offers food delivery and financial services. It recently launched a vehicle commerce platform, Ola CarsSo that the consumer can buy the vehicle.

The company has reported its first operating profit of Rs 89.82 crore on standalone basis (ride-hailing business) with revenue of Rs 689.61 crore for 2020-21. On a consolidated basis, Ola saw its operating loss narrow to Rs 429.20 crore in FY2011, while on a consolidated basis (including food and financial services business) revenue declined 63% to Rs 983.15 crore.

Ola is reportedly looking to raise $1-1.5 billion (Rs 7,324-10,985 crore) through an initial public offering and is expected to file a DRHP (draft red herring prospectus) in the December quarter.