To begin with, InOrbit will fulfil online orders in two hours for shoppers living within an 8 km radius of its four malls while customers within 20 km can enjoy same-day delivery
New Delhi: InOrbit Malls, one of India’s largest shopping centre chains, has taken an unusual step for a hardcore shopping centre operator: By becoming the first mall in India to launch its e-commerce site.
“We are excited to announce the launch of our very own e-commerce platform: www.inorbitonline.com,” the company announced on its LinkedIn page on Friday.
InOrbit Malls has started its e-commerce portal where shoppers can shop online and the four InOrbit malls in Mumbai, Hyderabad and Vadodara will fulfil those orders in two hours within a certain radius, according to the mint-fresh webstore.
“As the first mall in the country to offer this groundbreaking service, we are redefining convenience and customer satisfaction. For those within an 8 km radius of our malls, we’re offering swift 2-hour delivery, while customers within 20 km can enjoy same-day delivery from our empanelled brands, all from the comfort of their home!,” the LinkedIn post further said.
A person familiar with the development said that “all the brands in its mall properties are online.”
Inorbitonline.com functions like any other e-commerce site where customers can browse for various segments including fashion, beauty and home, and living among other items. Models wearing fashion apparel appear like on any other e-commerce platform. Customers, however, must choose from one of the four malls located in those cities for InOrbit to direct them to their city-specific webstore. Customers can create their profiles and track their orders online through the website.
This is an interesting concept of a mall operator getting directly into e-commerce to stem its dwindling sales and to shore up its businesses amid heavy online retailers’ incursions. The rapid emergence of e-commerce on India’s scene in the last 10 years is increasingly changing the way Indians shop. Mall operators say their businesses are hurting due to online players increasingly eating into their business with their wider selection options, deep discounting and ease of getting products at their doorsteps.
On top of that, a new breed of quick-commerce players including BlinkIt, Swiggy Instamart and Zepto are changing the dynamics of the game by delivering everything from food to fashion and from personal items to pharma in ten to 20 minutes, thus eating into the businesses for everyone from small kirana operators to India’s largest supermarket chains.
Malls have been trying to adapt to the changing landscapes by offering more food and beverage options in malls. Over the years shopping centres have been trying to lure consumers with more eating options in their malls that have at present gone up to about 30% eateries from about 10% some years ago.
“Earlier customers used to come to shop in malls and do some eating,” a top mall operator said. “Now consumers generally come to malls to eat and then do some shopping. Otherwise, shopping is something that happens online as well.”
Inorbit Malls (India) Private Ltd. is a subsidiary of the K. Raheja Corp, one of the pioneers of the mall culture in India. The company opened its first mall in 2004 at Malad in Mumbai. Currently, the company operates four malls in major metro cities Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Vadodara, and Cyberabad in Hyderabad.
