After Zepto, Swiggy Instamart, and Zomato’s Blinkit, Flipkart has entered the quick-commerce league with its new service called Minutes. With Flipkart Minutes, users will be able to get electronics, smartphones, and other items delivered within 10-15 minutes.
This initiative has been under work for several months now. Flipkart plans to operate around 100 fulfillment centres to support this initiative during the upcoming festive season. With Minutes, Flipkart will offer another option to users and further tighten the competition in this market.
Hari Kumar G, Vice President and Head of Grocery at Flipkart, said that it is his company’s strategy to deepen its grocery service reach in metropolitan areas and expand into Tier-2 and Tier-3 towns. He even said that both quick-commerce and next-day delivery models can coexist. He said there was a huge potential for quick-commerce services based on regional demand.
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Minutes is currently not available widely. It has been launched in select areas of Bengaluru, including HSR Layout, Gunjur, Bellandur, and Kadubeesanahalli. It will be eventually expanded to other areas too.
Flipkart is trying to stand tall in a market that has become fairly competitive. Previously, it introduced same-day delivery for multiple product categories across 20 cities, including both metro and non-metro regions. This included non-metro regions like Bhubaneswar, Coimbatore, Guwahati, Indore, Jaipur, Ludhiana, Nagpur, Patna, Raipur, Siliguri, and Vijayawada.
Not so long ago, Google invested nearly $350 million in Flipkart for a minority stake, which is part of a larger $1 billion funding round initiated in 2023. With this new capital, Flipkart will be able to fight against its competitors like Amazon, Reliance JioMart, Tata Digital, and quick-commerce rivals like Blinkit, Zepto, and Swiggy’s Instamart.