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Quick commerce fight intensifies as Swiggy, Zepto eye Rs 15,000-crore public market raise
The fight over quick commerce market share is intensifying as Swiggy and Zepto look to tap public markets for potential fundraises totalling as much as 15,000 crore. Industry executives and analysts tracking the red-hot sector said the two are locked in a race for the second spot, behind leader Blinkit, to sharpen their pitch and attract investor interest.
“It's become imperative for Swiggy and Zepto to build a strong war chest to sustain in a cash-guzzling industry,” said a person familiar with the thinking of these companies. Eternal's Blinkit is a clear market leader and was sitting on cash reserves of 18,314 crore as of September 30.
ETtech Scramble for capital, market share
Swiggy has Rs 4,605 crore in the bank. Zepto currently has around Rs 7,000 crore in the cash, according to a person in the know.
A research note by brokerage firm BofA in September said that Blinkit had over 50% market share with the rest divided among Instamart, Zepto, BigBasket, Flipkart Minutes and Amazon Now.
While Swiggy's management is on the road pitching a qualified institutional placement (QIP) of up to Rs 10,000 crore, Zepto is preparing a confidential filing to raise around Rs 4,000 crore, as reported by ET on November 5. After the QIP and once the sale of its stake in bike taxi startup Rapido closes, Swiggy will hold around Rs 17,000 crore in cash.
On Thursday, Swiggy pushed back against a brokerage note that said its fast-delivery business Instamart had ceded order market share to Zepto in recent months, marking an escalation in the tussle for No. 2. Industry executives said that Zepto's recent fee waivers and promotions have helped it shore up order volumes enough to establish a lead over Instamart.
“Market share data is a sensitive metric which can influence investors as they choose to go ahead and plough capital between Swiggy and Zepto,” said a person close to the matter. “Also, there is a finite appetite among public market investors to back companies that are losing money in a fiercely competitive sector like quick commerce.”
Rising cash burn
With Instamart responding to the Zepto fee waivers this month, people in the know said cash burn across the sector would have significantly increased. Swiggy's consolidated cash burn for the September quarter stood at Rs 740 crore, while for Eternal it was Rs 543 crore. The cash burn for Swiggy and Eternal takes into account their treasury income and operating profit from their food delivery businesses.
People in the know said Zepto's cash burn has increased to upwards of Rs 500 crore per month with a gross order value of around Rs 2,000 crore.
Responding to ET's queries, a Zepto spokesperson said, "We are growing order volume and our top-line meaningfully quarter-on-quarter, while improving bottom line quarter- on/quarter. We are able to do this even while passing value to the consumer because our supply chain and fulfilment costs are coming down rapidly". Swiggy did not respond to ET's queries.
Cash burn is the rate at which a company spends its reserves to cover operating expenses before generating positive cash flows. The funds are typically used for new user acquisition and maintaining high growth through marketing, discounting and people costs.
The burn rate has also impacted Swiggy's performance on the stock markets--the share is currently below its IPO price of Rs 390. On Thursday, it ended 1.4% lower at Rs 386.90 on BSE.
While Swiggy has guided that Instamart will break even on a contribution basis by June 2026, rival Blinkit has said it will continue to prioritise growth over improving short-term margins. Contribution, in this context, refers to revenue minus direct order-fulfilment costs.“Swiggy's commentary over the past few quarters has been that cash burn and losses will improve, but that hasn't materialised meaningfully,” said an analyst. “This has led shareholders to scrutinise the rationale for the QIP.”
Eternal's quarterly shareholders' letter cited Blinkit CEO Albinder Dhindsa as saying, “If we have to choose between high-quality sustainable growth, and a short-term sacrifice of margins, we are in a position to choose the former given our strong balance sheet.”
Zomato-Swiggy encore
The latest tussle between Swiggy and Zepto is reminiscent of Eternal's Rs 8,500-crore QIP, which coincided with Swiggy's Rs 11,300-crore IPO, of which around Rs 4,500 crore was in primary capital, exactly a year ago. The fundraising frenzy led to a spell of heavy cash burn across the quick commerce sector as all players jostled for greater market share.
As of September 30, Swiggy burnt through more than 80% of the Rs 4,500 crore it had raised via the IPO.
“The conversation around market share has grown more complex… Some players prioritise order volumes as the long-term driver, while others are betting on higher AOVs (average order value) for building a steady model,” saida Mumbai-based retail and internet sector analyst. “But with cash burn rising across the industry, there's no clear verdict yet on which strategy is superior.”
Net AOV, which is calculated after discounts, is currently in the Rs 520-530 range, according to a recent report by brokerage firm Bernstein.
“We think the companies will eschew AOVs in favour of order frequency,” the report said. “We believe net AOVs will increase only marginally from the current Rs 525-530 range with a growth of 2-3% per year.”
The quick commerce sector was at Rs 64,000 crore in FY25 by gross order value (GOV) and is estimated to grow to Rs 2 lakh crore by FY28, according to CareEdge Analytics & Advisory, a subsidiary of ratings agency CareEdge.
Source: EconomicTimes
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