Competitive Landscape in Quick Commerce Intensifies
As the leading trio of quick commerce entities—Eternal’s Blinkit, Swiggy’s Instamart, and Zepto—strive to maintain their dominance, notable latecomers in the field, such as Amazon and Flipkart, are fervently channeling resources to carve out their own niche.
Flipkart’s Strategic Expansion
Flipkart Minutes, the rapid commerce division of the Walmart-affiliated company, has burgeoned to encompass over 1,000 fulfillment centers across 130 urban locales within less than two years of inception.
Kunal Gupta, Senior Vice President and Head of Flipkart Minutes, remarked, “We are approximately five times larger than we were during the same timeframe last year.
This trajectory forecasts an era of aggressive expansion.” Recent reports indicate the company’s ambition to scale to 1,500 stores—elevating from roughly 750 in March—spanning over 180 cities.
Currently, it is augmenting its presence by approximately 100 stores monthly, translating to 3-4 new locations daily.
In contrast to existing quick commerce players, which predominantly concentrate their efforts in metropolitan hubs, Flipkart Minutes is venturing into tier 2 and 3 cities.
Of the 130 cities where the service operates, nearly 90 fall within these smaller markets. Gupta elaborated that the average order value in these regions exceeds that of metropolitan areas.
Amazon’s Tactical Approach
Similarly, Amazon Now is ambitiously expanding its footprint, currently managing about 500 dark stores across 15 cities, including hotspots such as Bengaluru, Delhi-NCR, and Mumbai.
The e-commerce titan recently announced plans to extend its reach to 300 cities, building on a previous target of 100 cities and 1,000 dark stores.
Amazon reports a consistent 25% month-on-month growth in orders, which have effectively doubled each quarter since its launch. The company also disclosed last week that it has inaugurated 100 sizable fulfillment centers in major locales like Bengaluru, Chennai, and Mumbai.
Currently, Amazon’s Chief Executive, Andy Jassy, is visiting India to meet with senior business leaders in Mumbai and is slated to confer with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi.
Previously, Amazon had pledged a substantial Rs 2,800 crore investment in India, part of a broader commitment of $35 billion by 2030 to bolster its infrastructure and operations.
Samir Kumar, Amazon India’s Country Manager, remarked in a prior interaction that although the company faced initial delays, it was never idle. “Once we determined to escalate our participation, we did so swiftly,” he emphasized.
Challenges for Emerging Players
Despite their considerable growth, both Amazon and Flipkart still trail the established leaders in the sector.
Data from Kotak Institutional Equities indicates that the top three competitors concluded FY26 managing 4,525 dark stores, boasting an aggregate gross merchandise value nearing Rs 92,000 crore, effectively doubling the tally from the previous year. Collectively, these platforms processed nearly two billion orders throughout the fiscal year.
Source link: M.economictimes.com.
