Why Blinkit and Instamart Are Winning the Quick Commerce War — and Zepto Isn’t
Quick commerce platforms Blinkit and Swiggy’s Instamart have strengthened their positions in the rapidly growing quick commerce sector during the first quarter of fiscal 2026 (April–June), while rival Zepto experienced a slowdown, according to industry analysts and brokerage reports.
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Blinkit, owned by Eternal, is estimated to have seen its gross order value (GOV) grow by over 25% quarter-on-quarter, while Instamart’s GOV rose by approximately 22%, both outperforming the sector’s overall sequential growth of less than 20%, ICICI Securities reported.
On an annual basis, Blinkit is projected to achieve a staggering 140% increase in GOV, with Instamart close behind at 110%. Zepto, in contrast, has struggled with declining daily active users—from 5.5 million in December 2024 to 4.9 million in June 2025—as customers shift to competitors amid concerns over pricing and service quality.
Blinkit, currently the market leader, reported a widened operational loss of ₹178 crore for the January–March quarter, nearly five times higher than the previous year. Instamart’s operating losses also increased, reaching ₹840 crore, largely due to aggressive expansion of its dark store network.
Industry experts attribute the market share gains to new customer additions and higher average order values (AOV), driven by customers switching from Zepto. Instamart recently launched a ‘Maxxsaver’ discount scheme encouraging bulk purchases, while Zepto’s ‘Super Saver’ program offers discounts on minimum order values.
To improve profitability, quick commerce players are moderating marketing spends and rationalizing discounts, focusing on increasing AOV and unit economics. Additional fees such as platform charges and convenience fees are also being introduced to boost margins.
Meanwhile, the pace of new dark store openings is slowing down. Blinkit and Instamart reduced their additions to roughly 250 and 80 stores respectively in Q1 FY26, compared to higher expansions in the previous quarter, as they approach near-term infrastructure targets.
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