Bad news for Zepto, Instamart, Blinkit as Flipkart to launch…, move is aimed to…

Flipkart Minutes-- the quick commerce arm of the Walmart-owned e-commerce giant Flipkart, plans to expand its quick commerce business in the coming months to take on market leaders Blinkit, Zepto, and Swiggy Instamart.

In major move to catch up with its competitors in the quick commerce market, especially, Zomato-owned Blinkit, Zepto and Swiggy Instamart, e-commerce giant Flipkart is planning to launch as many as 800 dark stores by the end of 2025. According to Flipkart CEO Kalyan Krishnamurthy, Flipkart Minutes– the quick commerce arm of the Walmart-owned e-commerce platform, plans to expand its quick commerce business in the coming months.

“We launched our own quick commerce product nine months back with just about 100 (dark) stores, and we are already close to 300 (dark) stores now. By the end of this year, we will probably get to 800 (dark) stores, that’s the vision we have,” Krishnamurthy said while speaking at Walmart’s annual Investment Community Meeting on April 9, according to MoneyControl.

Flipkart Minutes to set up 800 dark stores

The announcement of Flipkart’s expansion plans in India comes after Walmart announced a capital investment of Rs 3,249 crore (about $382 million) into the platform’s quick commerce business, which is aimed at expanding its footprint in India, and take on market leaders like Blinkit, Zepto and Instamart, who have been rapidly setting up more and more dark stores to clinch more market share.

According to details, market leader Blinkit had 1,007 stores, Swiggy Instamart operated 705, while Zepto owned and managed 750 stores at the of December quarter of FY25.

Blinkit plans to operate 2,000 dark stores by the end of 2025, while Swiggy and Zepta are planning to reach 1,000 and 1,200 stores, respectively. This means that even if Flipkart Minutes manages to reach its proposed target of 800 dark stores by the end of 2025, it will still be lag behind its competitors by a considerable margin.

Focus on supply chains, urban markets

Meanwhile, Krishnamurthy said Flipkart is focusing on building its supply chain capabilities in India as quick commerce segment has become highly sophisticated, with high expectations.

“The customer segment for this particular product (quick commerce) is very sophisticated, with high expectations. The most important aspect of making this business successful is the supply chain behind it, which has to be scalable, technology-enabled, agile, and reliable,” he said.

The Flipkart Minutes CEO said its services will be limited to top urban markets due higher demand for quicker deliveries in these markets.

“For the top 50 cities and the more affluent user base, we will lead with speed, service, convenience, and national brands…And the moment you come down to the next customer segment, we lead with selection and value, and make sure speed-related service becomes hygiene,” Krishnamurthy was quoted as saying.

Flipkart’s expansion plans come amidst the rapid pace of growth in India’s quick commerce market, with market leaders like Blinkit, Zepto and Swiggy Instamart, embarking on a rapid expansion spree of late.