Flipkart’s quick commerce platform, Flipkart Minutes, is on an aggressive expansion track, with plans to launch 800 dark stores across India by the end of 2025, according to the company’s Group CEO Kalyan Krishnamurthy. The announcement was made during Walmart’s annual Investment Community Meeting.
Flipkart Minutes was introduced just nine months ago, starting with around 100 stores. Since then, the number has quickly risen to nearly 300 stores, reflecting the platform’s fast-paced growth and increasing footprint in India’s quick commerce space.
India’s quick commerce sector is witnessing fierce competition, with major players expanding their dark store networks. Blinkit, owned by Zomato, had approximately 1,007 stores as of December 2023 and is targeting 2,000 stores by the end of 2024. Swiggy Instamart, which had around 705 stores, aims to scale up to 1,000 by March.
Other major players like Tata’s BigBasket and Zepto are also pushing for aggressive expansion. BigBasket is targeting 800 stores by March, while Zepto, the second-largest player in the space, currently operates about 750 stores and plans to scale up to 1,200. Zepto is also preparing for an IPO later this year.
Although Flipkart entered the quick commerce race later than its peers—launching Flipkart Minutes in August 2024 from Bengaluru—it has made rapid strides in a short period. The platform has already expanded to multiple metro cities and is offering deep discounts on a wide range of products to attract consumers and increase market share.
According to analysts from BofA Global Research, Flipkart Minutes offers some of the best prices in the electronics category, likely due to Flipkart’s well-established sourcing capabilities. This pricing strategy could play a significant role in helping the company carve out a niche in the competitive quick commerce space.
Flipkart is leveraging the global experience of its parent company, Walmart, to power its quick commerce ambitions. Walmart already operates Cloud Depots in China—a concept similar to dark stores—which offer deliveries in 15 to 60 minutes. Walmart is also piloting this model in Mexico with an existing network of around 4,000 stores.
These insights and operational knowledge give Flipkart a strategic edge in logistics and backend operations as it scales Flipkart Minutes in India.
Currently, Flipkart Minutes offers deliveries within 45 minutes in major cities. However, the company plans to reduce this time to just 15 to 30 minutes to better align with customer expectations for speed and convenience in urban areas.
In contrast, the strategy for smaller cities focuses more on product variety and affordability rather than ultra-fast deliveries. Krishnamurthy noted that around 300 million customers in smaller towns are more value-driven.
Flipkart is increasingly using artificial intelligence to enhance its platform experience. One of the recent innovations includes converting product catalogs into videos—a format preferred by younger consumers. The platform is also equipping sellers with tools to create video-based listings affordably, increasing engagement and conversion rates.
As part of its broader growth strategy, Flipkart is preparing for an initial public offering (IPO). The company has moved its base back to India and is expected to file its Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP) in the coming months, aiming for a stock market listing between 2026 and 2027.