With this move, Flipkart directly challenges established players in the booming quick commerce sector, including Swiggy’s Instamart, Zomato’s Blinkit, Zepto, and BigBasket’s BB Now.
The service, which was previously offered on a trial basis to employees at Flipkart’s headquarters, is now available to users through the Flipkart app.
We confirmed the service’s availability by checking an address in HSR on the Flipkart app, which indeed showed Flipkart Minutes as an option for quick delivery. Additionally, several users on X (formerly Twitter) reported that Flipkart is delivering groceries and other items to their addresses in Bengaluru within minutes through the “Minutes” service.
Sources familiar with the matter tell the Economic Times that Flipkart plans to expand the service to more areas in Bengaluru over the next few weeks.
The launch of Flipkart Minutes comes at a time when other players in the quick commerce space are aggressively expanding their operations.
The ET had earlier reported that Flipkart was planning to operate around 100 dark stores to bolster its quick-commerce offerings during the upcoming festive season. Dark stores, which are mini warehouses strategically located for rapid deliveries, have become a crucial component of quick commerce operations.
Blinkit, for instance, recently announced ambitious plans to increase its dark store count to 2,000 by 2026. This doubles down on its earlier announced plans to have 1,000 dark stores by March 2025. Similarly, Zepto aims to double its network to 700 dark stores by March 2025. Swiggy Instamart, another major player, currently operates more than 500 such warehouses.
Interestingly, Amazon, a key player in the e-commerce space, has not shown interest in the quick-commerce business in India so far. However, it does operate a grocery store service dubbed “Amazon Fresh,” offering same-day delivery for groceries. This is similar to what Flipkart has also been offering through its Grocery tab.