Like fast trading India is becoming the next e-commerce battlegroundWalmart-backed Flipkart said on Wednesday that its Minutes service is targeting a network of 1,000 micro-fulfillment centers – small, strategically located warehouses – less than two years after launching, as it expands its express delivery business in the South Asian country.
Flipkart said it plans to expand the network to 1,500 micro-fulfillment centers by the end of 2026, a rapid build that will further strengthen its position in India’s fiercely competitive e-commerce sector, where Blinkit, Zepto, Swiggy Instamart and Amazon are racing to add infrastructure and customers.
Based on current store counts and announced expansion plans, Flipkart could overtake Blinkit, which operates 2,243 such centers, as India’s second-largest e-commerce chain in terms of micro-fulfillment center count, according to a recent Jefferies note. Competitors Zepto and Swiggy Instamart are also expanding their networks.
India has emerged as one of the world’s fastest-growing rapid-commerce markets, with companies racing to build networks that can deliver everything from food and beauty products to electronics in minutes. Blinkit, owned by a grocery delivery company, remains the market leader, while Zepto, Swiggy Instamart, Flipkart and Amazon are investing heavily to expand their reach and win customers.
Competition has intensified in recent months as Amazon ramps up sales of Amazon Now, which is now available in more than 15 cities and operates more than 500 micro-fulfillment centers. Company plans while expanding the service to 100 cities with more than 1,000 micro-fulfillment centers, expanding its range beyond groceries into categories such as apparel, electronics and home products.
The queue is also reflected in the shopping patterns on Flipkart Minutes has been activated August 2024. Demand is increasingly coming from categories like electronics, beauty. Both figures come from the company and cannot be independently verified. Kunal Gupta, head of Flipkart Minutes, told TechCrunch that personal care products, not groceries. According to him, orders on the platform are up nearly 400% year-over-year, and customer retention is up 20% year-on-year.
“What started as a way to fulfill daily needs has become a whole new shopping habit for millions of Indians,” Gupta said. “Customers aren’t just ordering more, they’re ordering differently.”
Flipkart said it has expanded its Minutes program to more than 130 cities and 8,000 zip codes, with growth increasingly coming from smaller cities outside India’s largest metropolitan areas. According to the company, these markets registered over 4,000% year-over-year growth, aided by expansion into 90 new cities.
Gupta said the trend is seen in the rate of maturation of newly opened markets. He cited cities including Patna, Guwahati and Siliguri as examples of faster-than-expected increase in new stores, and described Lucknow as one of Flipkart Minutes’ best-performing markets, even though the company is yet to cover the entire city with its network.
Amazon is also betting on demand outside India’s biggest cities. The company told TechCrunch that 70% of its new Prime members come from smaller markets, and it continues to double its Prime membership base by the end of 2023. Amazon added that daily necessities now account for one out of every two units shipped on Amazon.in, and Amazon Now is increasing shopping frequency among customers.
Gupta told TechCrunch that Flipkart sees customers using Minutes alongside its core e-commerce platform rather than as a replacement, making more frequent purchases and helping it expand into categories like fresh produce and daily essentials. The company said average order values for fruit and vegetables increased 30% year-over-year.
Flipkart plans to open 75 to 100 micro-fulfillment centers per month as it expands to additional cities across the country, Gupta said.
The rapid expansion by Flipkart and Amazon underscores how India is becoming a testing ground for the next phase of e-commerce, with companies racing to transform e-commerce from a grocery delivery service to a broader shopping platform. There are already more than 5,500 dark shops in the country, according to Bernstein, and industry analysts expect that number to grow. By 2030, it will rise to about 7,500 as companies expand into smaller cities and expand their product offerings.
“We’re going to continue to expand rapidly, we’re not going to slow down after 1,000 stores and we’re all in,” Gupta said.
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