Rahul Verma, a software engineer from Mumbai, suddenly remembered at 11:30 pm – he didn’t have a presentable formal shirt to wear to office the next morning. He ordered a shirt on Flipkart Minutes, and 11 minutes later, the delivery arrived at his doorstep. This is not a marketing gimmick, but the quick commerce reality of today’s India. So is this super fast convenience at your doorstep for every Indian? And is it really sustainable? Let’s find out in this quick commerce guide below!
1. Why did the 10-minute war begin?
In 2019, Swiggy Genie (now suspended) started grocery delivery in 19 minutes in major regions including Bengaluru, Mumbai, and Delhi NCR. But in 2021, with the arrival of Zepto, this time was reduced to 10 minutes. According to market research company RedSeer:
- 78% of Indian urban consumers no longer accept a delivery time of more than 30 minutes
- 63% of users admitted that they choose quick commerce platforms for items of immediate need.
Based on this, many quick-commerce players like Blinkit (formerly Grofers), Big Basket, Swiggy Instamart, Dunzo Daily, and Amazon Fresh came to grab this business opportunity and from here the war of 10 minutes (who will deliver first at doorstep) started. Now Blinkit and Zepto are 2 main competitors… providing groceries and other essential items like kitchen ware, undergarments, beauty products, smartphones, game consoles etc.
Because this business has so much potential, each year new quick commerce companies in India try their luck and among them one in Flipkart Minutes (Backed by Flipkart), aimed at providing essentials to customers within 10 minutes!
2. How does this superfast delivery work?
The reason behind Flipkart Minutes’ success is its dark store network, which act as a mini-warehouse or distribution center within a city. To achieve superfast delivery, Flipkart has arranged…
- 2 dark stores within a 2-3 km radius in Bengaluru’s HSR Layout
- Each store stocks 2,500-3,000 SKUs
- 200+ micro warehouses (and aiming to reach 550 by end of 2024)
Compared to:
- Zepto: 300+ dark stores (mostly in the metro cities)
- Blinkit: 400+ dark stores (with reach to tier-2 cities)
3. What is the real customer experience?
Suman Lata, a homemaker in Delhi’s Saket area, tested all three platforms and what she found is…
Milk delivery:
- Flipkart: 12 minutes (but ₹5 platform fee)
- Blinkit: 15 minutes (₹25 delivery charge)
- Zepto: 9 minutes (under free delivery offer)
Emergency charger:
Only Flipkart Minutes delivered it in 18 minutes (not available on other platforms).
Even I have tested these 3 platforms in Delhi, and for day-to-day items + what brand I need… Zomato’s Blinkit wins the race. Flipkart Minutes is new, it is in the initial phase (burning cash) to kill the competition, but this looks hard as some items not up to the mark on their app and ₹5 platform fee is so irritating.
Apart from that, I have got feedback from my friend who lives in gurugram and his experience with Flipkart minutes is 50-50… First time he got all the needy products in around 16 minutes (no issue), but later on then second order he didn’t find some items on app and now this time he used blinkt.
So all this works which platform offers best product at minimum price without any non-sense fee like platform fee, high demand fee, handling charges, packing charges etc.
Flipkart minutes understand these extra charges and only charged Rs 5-9 which customers liked and to make the platform profitable they started targeting premium customers who believe in brands only. For this, the recently launched “Gourmet” category takes Flipkart Minutes into the premium segment. It includes 130+ brands like Samyang noodles from South Korea, Barilla pasta from Italy, Lindt chocolates from France.
Mumbai food blogger Rahul Verma tested and found Spanish olive oil in 12 minutes, but the price was 10% higher than the market. This clearly shows that Flipkart is selling a premium experience along with speed.
4. The inside story of dark stores
A dark store manager (who spoke on condition of anonymity) said:
- 800-1,200 orders processed per day
- 15 pickers work in a shift (each completes 60-70 orders/shift)
- 3% of orders are returned (mostly due to “mood changes”)
5. Environmental impact: What’s the cost?
According to a study by IIT Bombay – Quick commerce vehicles emit 300 grams of carbon per delivery and they also found that the packing waste is 45% higher in single item orders.
However, Flipkart claims to have biodegradable packaging, but it is currently only implemented on 30% of orders. Additionally, their entire focus is on delivering customer orders via electric vehicles (EV Bikes), which we also see in Blinkit and Zepto.
6. What is the future?
Well, the quick commerce business has a lot of opportunities and potential. It is profitable in metro cities where people order lots of things 2 or 3 times a week and now this trend is also reached in small cities. By paying a small delivery fee Rs 9 or Rs 12… customer gets the order at home.
RedSeer estimates, India’s quick commerce market will reach $5.5 billion by 2025. But given the current cash burn rate ($40M/month for Flipkart), there will be consolidation in the industry.
Experts believe only 2-3 players will survive by 2026 and if I am not wrong then these will be Blinkit, Zepto, and Flipkart Minutes!
The ultimate truth: Who to choose?
Flipkart Minutes has given a new dimension to quick commerce in India, but the service is currently out of reach for 90% of the country. Until it reaches smaller towns and finds an eco-friendly solution, the battle cannot be fully won.
As I said, you can not get all items of your choice on a single platform. This is just like OTT, where no single platform offers all movies.. Depending on the preference, you have to choose an option.
- Premium users in metro cities: Flipkart Minutes (for variety and speed)
- Grocery and everyday needs: Blinkit/Zepto (due to wide availability)
- Eco-conscious consumers: Choose regular e-commerce delivery (1-2 days)
So what’s your opinion on Flipkart Minutes? Please let us know about your experience with quick commerce platforms in the comments below and don’t forget to share it with others on social media groups!
