Thinking of getting a cab in India? Ola is a prominent name that comes to mind. Now the renowned taxi-hailing service is bringing further convenience to people by letting them shop for groceries from the comfort of their homes and have them delivered to their doorsteps.

Ola Store is the new grocery delivery service where customers can shop from a wide range of products spread across 13 categories including fruits, vegetables, beverages and snacks.

Ola, which is backed by Alibaba and SoftBank, launched its new grocery delivery service in Bengaluru and has tie-ups with major retailers such as Family Mall, Grocery Mart and Namdhari's Fresh. Available only as an Android app, Ola Store is soon to arrive on iOS-powered devices as well.

Although the new service is part of Ola, it gets a separate app to serve the deliveries. Started off with just three cars, the original Ola app now offers autos, TaxiForSure cabs and Ola Café, a food-delivery service. Instead of adding a fourth tab at the bottom of the app screen, Ola developed a separate app to keep things simple. Ola Store features a user-friendly interface with well-organised categories.

Every category has sub-categories that make it easy for customers to find what they are looking for. 

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  • Ola Store: Sub Categories - Everything You Can Order Using New Ola AppScreenshot / Ola Store app
  • Ola Store: Sub Categories - Everything You Can Order Using New Ola AppScreenshot / Ola Store app
  • Ola Store: Sub Categories - Everything You Can Order Using New Ola AppScreenshot / Ola Store app

What's interesting is the fact that Ola Store promises speedy deliveries between 8am to 11pm every day, NDTV reported.  Delivery is free for orders above Rs 250 or shoppers are asked to pay a minimal fee of Rs 30. Customers can opt for instant delivery, where orders will be delivered within 90 minutes or select "Deliver Later" option to choose a one-hour window at a later time. Immediate deliveries are chargeable and customers must pay

How to use Ola Store?

Ola Store has a simple UI and is easy to use. When you launch the app, make sure your device's GPS is turned on so Ola Store can locate your current location. This will let the app show you tailored results such as the products available in your particular area. But if you are looking to place orders in a different place, you can change the location.

Select the products you need from the available categories by simply tapping Add on each product. All the items will be listed in the cart and customers can complete the order by making the payment using debit or credit card, Ola Money net banking or cash-on-delivery options. Users must register their phone numbers before checking out.

As part of the launch offer, Bengalureans will get a 20% discount on the first order.

Ola Store is available as a free download for Android smartphones and weighs just 6.4MB. Looking at the app reviews and Twitter responses, Ola Store appears to be getting a positive response from its users.