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Flipkart Minutes Overtakes Swiggy Instamart In Dark-Store Count
Flipkart Minutes Overtakes Swiggy Instamart In Dark-Store Count
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Flipkart Minutes has overtaken Swiggy Instamart in dark-store count across India’s top 10 quick-commerce cities, with 627 stores compared with Swiggy’s 615, as competition intensifies in the country’s fastest-growing delivery market, according to a CLSA report.
The gap is narrow but significant, pointing to the rapid expansion of Flipkart’s quick-commerce business even as established players continue to deepen their networks. The 10 cities together account for 3,536 dark stores, according to CLSA’s Quick Commerce Map, with Blinkit leading at 969 stores, followed by Zepto at 828, Flipkart Minutes at 627, Swiggy Instamart at 615 and BigBasket at 497.
Blinkit has the largest store footprint in six of the 10 cities – Bengaluru, Delhi, Pune, Gurgaon, Lucknow and Ahmedabad. Zepto leads in Hyderabad, Mumbai and Chennai, while Flipkart Minutes has the highest store count in Kolkata.
“Quick commerce players are deepening their presence in existing markets while selectively expanding into new geographies. Eternal’s Blinkit continues to lead this expansion. In newly entered markets, players appear to be adopting a measured rollout approach, with relatively smaller dark store footprints as they test local demand and unit economics before scaling.
“At the same time, emerging players are increasingly targeting geographies that remain underpenetrated by incumbents, seeking to establish an early foothold and secure first-mover advantages," CLSA report said.
“Within the top 10 cities, Flipkart Minutes has already surpassed Swiggy Instamart in both dark store count and pincode coverage." Bengaluru is the largest quick-commerce market in the sample, with 735 stores across the tracked platforms.
Blinkit has 180 stores there, narrowly ahead of Zepto at 177, while Swiggy Instamart has 143 and Flipkart Minutes 119. Delhi follows with 531 stores, where Blinkit has a more substantial lead at 188, compared with 112 for Zepto, 102 for Flipkart Minutes and 69 for Swiggy.
Flipkart Minutes’ lead over Swiggy becomes particularly notable in markets such as Kolkata, where it operates 72 stores compared with 35 for Swiggy. In Delhi, it has 102 stores against Swiggy’s 69, while in Mumbai the two have 67 and 62, respectively, according to the CLSA report.
Swiggy, however, is still expanding its network. According to the broader analysis, it added the highest number of dark stores among the top three players across the 10 cities over the past month, suggesting that the company is pursuing a densification strategy in established markets.
The competitive picture is more fragmented beyond the largest cities. Blinkit’s 969 stores across the top 10 give it a clear network lead, while Zepto’s 828-store footprint puts it firmly in second place. But Flipkart Minutes’ ability to move ahead of Swiggy at the aggregate level suggests that the contest for the next tier of scale is becoming increasingly close.
The data also highlights the importance of store density rather than city presence alone. A larger network allows quick-commerce platforms to position inventory closer to consumers, potentially supporting faster deliveries, broader assortment and better utilisation of logistics infrastructure.
At the same time, newer players are increasingly looking beyond established markets, targeting underpenetrated pincodes and smaller cities where they can build an early customer base before incumbents arrive.
Blinkit remains best positioned on geographic breadth. Its broader network extends well beyond the top 10 cities, with the company maintaining an exclusive presence in more than 180 cities, according to the analysis. That reach could give it a first-mover advantage as quick commerce expands beyond India’s largest urban centres.
The CLSA figures are indicative rather than precise counts and exclude Amazon and JioMart from the total store count. They nonetheless underline a rapidly changing competitive landscape in which Blinkit retains a sizeable network lead, while Flipkart Minutes is gaining ground on Swiggy and the gap among the next-tier players narrows.
Flipkart Minutes plans to continue expanding its dark store network, aiming to increase its micro-fulfilment centres from 1,000 to 1,500 in the coming months, by the end of 2026. The company intends to open between 75 and 100 micro-fulfilment centres every month.
The quick commerce market in India is entering its most competitive phase, with Flipkart Minutes rapidly expanding its network and intensifying competition with established players like Swiggy Instamart. This expansion is happening as early quick-commerce players shift their focus towards profitability. The competition is increasingly centred on expanding coverage and improving the productivity of existing networks.
Blinkit is expanding its network to 3,000 stores by March 2027. Swiggy Instamart is shifting to an inventory-led model to improve its contribution margin. Peeko, a babycare quick commerce platform, is focusing on offering a wider selection and a try-and-buy feature.
Source: News18
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