via TechCrunch
Walmart-Backed Flipkart Expands Quick-Commerce Push as Amazon Ramps Up in India
As quick commerce becomes India’s next e-commerce battleground, Walmart-backed Flipkart announced Wednesday that its Minutes service has built a network of 1,000 micro-fulfillment centers — small, strategically located warehouses designed to enable deliveries in minutes — less than two years after launch. This milestone comes as Amazon accelerates its fast-delivery business in the South Asian nation, targeting a similar scale.
Flipkart said it plans to expand the network to 1,500 micro-fulfillment centers by the end of 2026, a rapid buildout that would further strengthen its position in India’s fiercely competitive quick-commerce sector. Rivals including Blinkit, Zepto, Swiggy Instamart, and Amazon are racing to add infrastructure and attract customers.
Based on current store counts and announced expansion plans, Flipkart could emerge as India’s second-largest quick-commerce network by micro-fulfillment center count, behind Blinkit, which operates 2,243 such centers, according to a recent note by Jefferies. Zepto and Swiggy Instamart are also expanding their networks.
India has emerged as one of the world’s fastest-growing quick-commerce markets, with companies racing to build networks capable of delivering everything from groceries and beauty products to electronics in minutes. Blinkit, owned by food-delivery company Eternal, remains the market leader, while Zepto, Swiggy Instamart, Flipkart, and Amazon are investing heavily to expand their reach and win customers.
The competition has intensified in recent months as Amazon accelerates the rollout of Amazon Now, which is currently available in more than 15 cities and operates over 500 micro-fulfillment centers. Amazon plans to expand the service to 100 cities with more than 1,000 micro-fulfillment centers while broadening its assortment beyond groceries into categories such as apparel, electronics, and home products.
The shift is also evident in shopping patterns on Flipkart Minutes, which launched in August 2024. Demand is increasingly coming from categories such as electronics, beauty, and personal care products rather than just groceries, Kunal Gupta, head of Flipkart Minutes, told TechCrunch. Orders on the platform have grown about 400% from a year earlier, while customer retention has increased 20% year-over-year, he said. Both figures come from the company and could not be independently verified.
“What began as a way to fulfill everyday essentials has evolved into a fundamentally new shopping habit for millions of Indians,” Gupta said. “Customers are not just ordering more; they are ordering differently.”
Flipkart said it has expanded Minutes to more than 130 cities and 8,000 postal codes, with growth increasingly coming from smaller cities beyond India’s largest metropolitan areas. Those markets recorded more than 4,000% growth from a year earlier, aided by expansion into 90 new cities, according to the company.
The trend, Gupta said, is visible in the pace at which newly launched markets are maturing. He cited cities including Patna, Guwahati, and Siliguri as examples where new stores are ramping up faster than expected, and described Lucknow as one of Flipkart Minutes’ best-performing markets despite the company not yet covering the entire city with its network.
Amazon is also betting on demand outside India’s largest cities. The company told TechCrunch that 70% of new Prime members come from smaller markets and that it remains on track to double its Prime membership base in the country by 2026.