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Flipkart to Revolutionize Quick Commerce with 10-Minute Medicine Delivery

• ByStartupStory     |    December 3, 2024

Flipkart, the Walmart-owned e-commerce giant, is gearing up to launch Flipkart Minutes, a 10-minute medicine delivery service, marking its foray into the highly competitive quick commerce market. The initiative, which has already begun enlisting local chemists in metro cities, aims to redefine convenience in pharmaceutical delivery and potentially outpace competitors in this untapped segment.

According to a senior industry executive, Flipkart Minutes is set to become a full-fledged quick commerce platform, leveraging its robust last-mile delivery network while adhering to Indian drug regulations that mandate partnerships only with registered chemists. “Flipkart wants to develop Flipkart Minutes into a full-fledged quick commerce platform. Medicines is a hitherto untapped opportunity since existing platforms deliver products in an hour to even 3-5 days,” the executive said.

The service ensures compliance by allowing licensed pharmacies to sell medicines through Flipkart’s platform while its logistics partners handle last-mile deliveries.

A Growing Market with High Potential

The quick commerce market for medicines is largely uncharted territory, despite its immense potential. Analysts highlight the sector’s attractive margins compared to food and grocery deliveries. Devangshu Dutta, Chief Executive at Third Eyesight, explained, “There are no real demand-side or supply problems for quick commerce in medicines in cities. Players like Flipkart have the edge of being a high-traffic platform and a robust last-mile delivery network. However, critically, the medicine business is also about discounts which can make a real difference for chronic patients or for long-duration and expensive treatments.”

The new venture will position Flipkart alongside dominant players like Reliance Retail-owned Netmeds, Tata 1mg, and Apollo Pharmacy. In 2021, Flipkart acquired a majority stake in SastaSundar Marketplace, an online pharmacy platform, to establish a foothold in the healthcare space.

Scaling Up Flipkart Minutes

Having gone live in Bengaluru this August, Flipkart Minutes is operational in Bengaluru, Delhi-NCR, and Mumbai, with plans to expand to other major cities, including Kolkata, Pune, Hyderabad, and Chennai. In addition to medicines, Flipkart Minutes fulfills grocery orders through partnerships with local kirana stores and existing sellers on its marketplace.

“Almost 60% of the orders are fulfilled by local grocers and some of the large sellers in the platform are also moving for quick commerce deliveries. Apart from opening new dark stores, Flipkart is also repurposing its existing city warehouses for grocery deliveries and as dark stores for Minutes,” the executive revealed.

The company’s strategy includes free deliveries and a wider selection of products compared to its competitors, aiming to dominate India’s burgeoning quick commerce market. A recent report by Grant Thornton Bharat forecasts the market to grow from $3.34 billion currently to $9.94 billion by 2029, with a 76% year-on-year expansion in 2023-24.

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