Flipkart Expands Quick Commerce Play With 200 Dark Stores: Report

Intensifying its push into quick commerce, Flipkart has reportedly expanded its ‘Minutes’ by setting up more than 200 dark stores across 14 cities.

Speaking at the ongoing Startup Mahakumbh, Flipkart Minutes’ vice president Kanchan Mishra said, “We (Flipkart) have been around for long but Flipkart Minutes is a new venture where we are now in 14 cities and have over 200 stores. We are going fast and working closely with brands in this journey and taking them to the next stage.” 

Mishra also highlighted the evolution of customer behaviour in terms of speedy delivery and product selection process, according to a Business Standard report. 

“With the homemaker, the largest customer segment in India, coming on to quick commerce, a much larger set of brands now see quick commerce as an opportunity, and we are seeing this as well,” she added. 

In August last year, Flipkart piloted the quick commerce service in several pockets of Bengaluru, claiming to deliver groceries, electronics, smartphones and other products within 8-16 minutes. Eventually, ‘Minutes’ was expanded to Delhi.

Flipkart launched the quick commerce service to take on its competitors, including Zepto, Blinkit and Swiggy Instamart. The ecommerce giant aims to expand its dark store channel to 500-550 ahead of its ‘Big Billion Days’ sales this year.

The Dark Store Theory

The quick commerce trend in the country gave rise to the dark store channel, facilitating giants, including Zepto, Blinkit, Swiggy Instamart and Flipkart Minutes to fulfil the promise of delivering products in 10-15 minutes.

As per JP Morgan, Blinkit and Swiggy-owned Instamart are aggressively expanding their dark store network. The brokerage estimates Blinkit to own around 1,229 dark stores across the country. 

However, in the recent past Zepto has slowed down its dark store expansion ahead of its anticipated public listing in FY26. The company owns around 1,147 dark stores.

Besides quick commerce delivery startups, companies like Ola and Delhivery have also been in discussions to set up their own dark stores.

While dark stores are backing the quick commerce wave in the country, there have been certain hygiene concerns in the past. In July 2024, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) conducted surprise audits and spot checks on dark stores of major quick commerce players including Blinkit.

As per a report by Statista, India’s quick commerce market volume is expected to reach $9.95 Bn mark by 2029.