Synopsis
India’s quick-commerce market is back in a discounting spiral. Amazon and Flipkart are turning up the heat, but incumbents Blinkit and Swiggy Instamart are largely refusing to dive into the price war as they prioritise profitability, industry executives said.Listen to this article in summarized format
Market leader Blinkit, owned by Eternal, achieved operating-level breakeven in the third quarter of FY26 and reported an operating profit in the fourth quarter, while Instamart is targeting contribution margin breakeven this quarter.
Last year, leading quick-commerce platforms introduced a slew of fees and charges while cutting back on discounts to improve unit economics.
But now, the industry is once again seeing discounts, cashbacks and freebies as companies vie to attract and retain customers amid rising competition.
Ecommerce major Amazon's quick commerce arm Amazon Now is offering cashbacks of Rs 50, Rs 100 and Rs 200 depending on order value, while Flipkart Minutes is running Re 1 deals on fresh produce. Zepto, which is engaged in a close fight with Instamart for the second spot in the industry, is selling select non-grocery products for Rs 9.
“There are two very different games being played right now,” said a senior quick commerce executive who requested not to be identified. “Some players are optimising for customer acquisition, while others are optimising for sustainable economics.”
Explaining Blinkit’s restraint, the person noted that “matching every discount isn't necessarily the best use of capital” for a company with a large user base. “Once you cross a certain scale, every percentage point improvement in margins creates significantly more enterprise value than every percentage point gain in market share. That's where the focus has shifted for the incumbents,” the executive added.
Kotak Institutional Equities in a recent report noted that price competition remains intense in the sector. “Zepto continues to offer free deliveries at MOVs (minimum order values) of Rs 99-149, Amazon is offering price discounts as well as cashbacks, while Flipkart Minutes is offering discounts at MOV of Rs 299,” it said. “Blinkit seems to be the most disciplined on SKU pricing, cart discounts and platform fees. Instamart is also reducing discounting relative to the newer players.”
In an interview with ET on June 8, Amazon India country manager Samir Kumar said the company was aiming for market leadership in quick commerce. During CEO Andy Jassy's visit to India last week, Amazon announced plans to expand Amazon Now to 300 cities, tripling the 100-city target it had set just two months ago.
“We've seen this movie before with Blinkit, Zepto and Instamart,” an investor tracking the space said. “When you're in expansion mode, you can't just keep opening dark stores and expect demand to show up. Those stores have to be utilised, which means you need customers ordering frequently. That's why companies spend heavily on discounts, freebies and performance marketing. Amazon and Flipkart are at that stage right now.”
Blinkit plans to expand its network to 3,000 dark stores by March 2027. Amazon is targeting 1,000 stores, while Flipkart aims to reach 1,500 over the next few months. Zepto and Instamart, which each operate a little over 1,100 dark stores, have eased off aggressive network expansion.
“Blinkit's customers are no longer looking only for deep discounts. The company is expanding its dark store network to widen its assortment and increase stock-keeping units, which helps improve retention,” said Satish Meena, founder of Datum Intelligence.
Eternal CEO and Blinkit founder Albinder Singh Dhindsa said during the company's Q4 earnings that “aggressive discounting” in the industry is leading to poor-quality growth centred around low-margin products.
In an earlier interview with ET, Swiggy group CEO Sriharsha Majety said: “This is a commoditised market. Left to itself, you either end up pursuing a price-led strategy or an assortment-led strategy. We believe a price-led approach is not for us.”
