Delhivery CEO: Amazon, Flipkart to Enter Quick Commerce in Select Categories

Synopsis : Quick commerce platforms like Zepto, Blinkit, and Swiggy Instamart are broadening their scope to include categories such as fashion, electronics, and home appliances, traditionally dominated by e-commerce giants. Delhivery CEO Sahil Barua indicated that Amazon and Flipkart may soon enter this space with sub-segments offering two- to four-hour deliveries.

Quick commerce platforms, including Zepto, Blinkit, and Swiggy Instamart, are strategically broadening their offerings to include a wider range of categories such as fashion, electronics, home appliances, and luggage. This move marks their entry into areas traditionally dominated by larger e-commerce providers.

Delhivery CEO and co-founder Sahil Barua noted on Friday that Amazon and Flipkart might soon introduce a sub-segment of quick commerce focusing on two- or four-hour deliveries. During the company’s post-earnings analyst call, Barua stated, “There’s a sub-segment of quick commerce which is yet to be evaluated. There’s a long distance between 15-minute delivery and same-day or next-day delivery. I think there will be a segment, which will emerge for certain kinds of products, which will be two-hour, four-hour deliveries. We already perform this in all the cities we are present in.”

It was previously reported that Flipkart plans to venture into quick commerce in July. Barua mentioned, “I anticipate that for certain categories within e-commerce that are more amenable to quick commerce, which are structured categories like mobile phones, for example, or certain kinds of appliances…I think larger players will be around. Flipkart and Amazon have both made public announcements to this effect that they will be expanding their operations for these categories, and I think we’ll have a role to play there in the overall supply chain.”

Avenue Supermarts CEO Neville Noronha has also highlighted the significant impact of quick commerce platforms on the retail landscape, describing the format as 'significantly smarter' than traditional digital platforms and highly relevant to the Indian market. He remarked on the potential for quick commerce to achieve large scale and enable micro enterprises to reach targeted audiences cost-effectively.

In a recent development, Swiggy Instamart has started delivering movie merchandise, further expanding the quick commerce sector. Various platforms have also partnered with jewelry brands to offer rapid delivery of silver and gold coins within 10 minutes for Akshaya Tritiya, showcasing the industry's innovative approach to meeting customer demands.

This week, Zomato Ltd, while presenting its Q4 FY24 results, announced plans to expand its quick-commerce business, Blinkit, aiming to add 100 dark stores by June and targeting 1,000 warehouses by the end of the financial year. Blinkit, acquired by Zomato in June 2022, became operationally profitable in March, with revenue and gross order value doubling in the fourth quarter.

Zomato's co-founder and CEO Deepinder Goyal has projected that Blinkit could surpass their core food-delivery business in size over the next year. Zomato added 75 Blinkit stores between January and March, increasing the total to 526, as they strive to cater to frequent buyers accustomed to instant delivery of household essentials. Albinder Dhindsa, founder and CEO of Blinkit, stated, “While we have a presence in 26 cities, the focus from an expansion standpoint is the top eight cities in India. Of the new stores that we opened in the fourth quarter, 80% are in these top eight cities.”

Related Questions

1. What are quick commerce platforms?

Quick commerce platforms, such as Zepto, Blinkit, and Swiggy Instamart, offer rapid delivery of a variety of products, including groceries, fashion, electronics, and more, often within minutes to a few hours.

2. What new categories are quick commerce platforms expanding into?

Quick commerce platforms are expanding into categories such as fashion, electronics, home appliances, and luggage, traditionally dominated by larger e-commerce providers.

3. What is the anticipated future of quick commerce according to Delhivery CEO Sahil Barua?

Delhivery CEO Sahil Barua anticipates that Amazon and Flipkart might soon introduce a sub-segment of quick commerce focusing on two- or four-hour deliveries, bridging the gap between 15-minute delivery and same-day or next-day delivery.

4. What impact has quick commerce had on the retail landscape according to Avenue Supermarts CEO Neville Noronha?

Avenue Supermarts CEO Neville Noronha describes quick commerce platforms as 'significantly smarter' than traditional digital platforms and highly relevant to the Indian market, with the potential to achieve large scale and enable micro enterprises to reach targeted audiences cost-effectively.

5. What are Blinkit's expansion plans as announced by Zomato?

Blinkit plans to add 100 dark stores by June and target 1,000 warehouses by the end of the financial year. Blinkit became operationally profitable in March, with revenue and gross order value doubling in the fourth quarter.