Delivery firm Blinkit faces protests over reduced payouts and unsustainable 10-minute delivery model

• ByStartupStory     |    April 18, 2023

Blinkit, delivery firms owned by Zomato’s grocery unit, are facing issues due to their 10-minute delivery model. The fixed payouts per delivery were reduced from ₹25 to ₹15, leading to protests by thousands of delivery executives in Delhi-NCR. Some of Blinkit’s stores in Gurugram had to be shut down due to the protests.

Ashneer Grover, co-founder of BharatPe, took to Twitter to highlight the problems faced by Blinkit. In a post, he said that the 10-minute delivery model or quick commerce has no unit economics. “Low ticket size and low margin can never be solved through forced low delivery cost,” he said.

The tweet by Grover quickly went viral and triggered an array of reactions from social media users. Many users commented that Blinkit do not always deliver within 10 minutes, and that the model does not make sense from a safety point of view.

In response to the protests, Blinkit stated in an email that it had introduced a new structure for riders that compensates them based on their effort and was engaging with them to reopen the shut stores. The company competes with other big delivery firms, including top retailer Reliance-backed Dunzo, Tata’s BigBasket, and SoftBank-backed Swiggy in India’s fast-growing grocery market.

The issues faced by Blinkit highlight the challenges of the quick commerce model, which has gained popularity in India due to its convenience but is struggling to achieve profitability due to low margins and high competition.

As Grover said, “The problem is not ₹15 for delivery against ₹50. The problem is 10 Min delivery has no economics.” Delivery firms will need to find ways to make the quick commerce model economically viable to ensure their sustainability in the long run.

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