Ecommerce

Flipkart Debuts ‘Minutes’ in Bengaluru for 10-Minute Deliveries

• ByStartupStory     |    August 6, 2024

Walmart-owned Flipkart has officially entered the ultra-fast delivery market with the launch of its new service, ‘Minutes’. Launched in Bengaluru, ‘Minutes’ aims to compete with other quick-commerce players like Zepto, Swiggy’s Instamart, and Zomato’s Blinkit. This move follows months of speculation about Flipkart’s entry into the 10-minute delivery market, as reported by Business Standard.

Flipkart’s ‘Minutes’ service has begun operations in key tech and residential hotspots of Bengaluru, including HSR Layout, Gunjur, Bellandur, and Kadubeesanahalli. The service aims to meet the high demand for speedy deliveries in these areas, offering a range of products including electronics and smartphones within a swift 10 to 15 minute timeframe.

“The service has gone live in select parts of Bengaluru,” said a person familiar with the matter. “The idea is to keep perfecting it first and then expand.”

Sources indicate that Flipkart plans to operate approximately 100 fulfillment centers to enhance its quick commerce strategy for the upcoming festive season. Industry insiders report that the 15-20 minute delivery services offered by competitors like Zepto, Instamart, and Blinkit are significantly capturing sales that would otherwise go to Flipkart and Amazon.

In addition to its quick commerce efforts, Flipkart has rolled out same-day delivery for a variety of product categories, enabling the Bengaluru-based company to reach millions of customers in 20 cities, both metropolitan and non-metropolitan. Non-metro cities benefiting from this service include Bhubaneswar, Coimbatore, Guwahati, Indore, Jaipur, Ludhiana, Nagpur, Patna, Raipur, Siliguri, and Vijayawada. The company plans to expand this service to additional cities, including Tier-II and Tier-III areas and categories. However, the quick-commerce initiative is distinct from this service, as it aims to deliver products even more rapidly.

Hari Kumar G, vice president and head of grocery at Flipkart, recently commented on the company’s expansion plans, stating that Flipkart is enhancing its grocery services in metropolitan areas while also expanding into Tier-2+ towns across India. Kumar mentioned that both quick-commerce and next-day delivery models can operate simultaneously. Additionally, the company is considering the introduction of quick-commerce services in the future, depending on the demand observed in specific regions of the country.

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