India’s Reliance Retail is testing an in-store search and discovery platform across selected apparel outlets to better connect physical and digital shopping.
The retailer is running the pilot at its Trends and Yousta stores, with plans to expand it to the Smart Bazaar chain later this year, reported Reuters.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
Shoppers access the system by scanning an in-store QR code, enabling personalised product search and recommendations aligned with their preferences.
Financial and operational specifics of the initiative were not disclosed.
Reliance Retail operates 19,979 outlets across India and serves more than 370 million customers across categories, including apparel, electronics and groceries.
The move comes as competition in India’s retail market intensifies from e-commerce operators such as Amazon India and Walmart-backed Flipkart, alongside the rapid rise of quick-commerce platforms such as Swiggy Instamart, Blinkit and Zepto.
US Tariffs are shifting - will you react or anticipate?
Don’t let policy changes catch you off guard. Stay proactive with real-time data and expert analysis.
By GlobalDataReliance’s JioMart grocery service entered the ten-minute delivery segment last year, with the company putting more than 600 dark stores into operation nationwide in October.
According to the report, heavy festive discounting, spending on hyperlocal delivery and a one-off effect from India’s new labour code reduced Reliance Retail’s core margin to 8% in the third quarter from 8.6% a year earlier.
Despite these pressures, the report said India’s retail sector continues to expand, allowing market-share shifts without constraining overall growth.
In its latest financial update last month, Reliance Retail reported profit after tax of Rs35.51bn ($390.6m) for the quarter ended 31 December 2025, up 2.7% from Rs34.58bn a year earlier.
Including associates and joint ventures, total profit rose 2.1% year-on-year to Rs35.58bn.
Last December, Reliance Retail’s holding entity RRVL appointed Jeyandran Venugopal as president and CEO.
