The Indian e-commerce giant Flipkart has big plans in store for its customers. According to a trusted source in the know, the company is looking to enter the market of quick-commerce. This means that customers can expect to receive their orders instantly after making a purchase. This new service is set to launch in select locations as early as May this year, but the timeline may change slightly as discussions are ongoing.
A spokesperson for Flipkart, a company mainly owned by Walmart, stated that they are dedicated to meeting the ever-evolving expectations of their customers. They aim to do this by providing top-notch value, a wide selection of products, and speedy delivery. They also hinted at more initiatives in the works to further improve their services in the coming months.
Flipkart, with a valuation of over $30 billion, has been working diligently to reduce their delivery times. Through significant investments in their supply chain infrastructure, they have been able to offer same-day and next-day delivery options. While their focus has mainly been on grocery items, they are now expanding into other areas with the introduction of quick-commerce.
This move comes at a time when Flipkart is reportedly looking into acquiring the instant-delivery startup Dunzo. However, talks have been complicated due to the ownership of Dunzo by Reliance, as reported by TechCrunch last month.
The launch of quick-commerce by Flipkart coincides with the ambitious expansion plans of other players in this space, including Swiggy, Zepto, and Zomato’s BlinkIt. These companies are broadening their product offerings beyond just grocery delivery to include a diverse range of items, from daily essentials to electronic gadgets. This is all in hopes of securing a larger share of India’s rapidly growing e-commerce market.
According to analysts, quick-commerce has now become a “core offering” for food delivery players, rather than just an “adjacent offering.” It currently accounts for around 40% of the online grocery delivery category, with a potential TAM (total addressable market) of $45 billion, which is approximately 7% of the total grocery market in India, estimated to be worth $620 billion. The serviceable market for quick-commerce is in metros and Tier1 cities, covering around 17% of the population. The target audience for quick-commerce is mid-to-high income households, making up about 60% of the market, with a focus on top-up orders making up 70% of the market. These projections indicate that quick-commerce has the potential to grow significantly in the coming years, with predicted GMV (gross merchandise value) of $6.2 billion by 2025.
The Indian news outlet Entrackr was the first to report some of the details of Flipkart’s instant commerce plans.
“At Flipkart, customer-centricity is at the core of everything we do. We constantly work towards delivering a wide range of products to customers with speed,” a Flipkart spokesperson said. “Over the past few months, we have made several investments to enhance our delivery capabilities, including adding same-day delivery in 20 cities. This covers mobiles, essential items, electronics, home appliances, fashion, books and lifestyle products.”
It is clear that Flipkart is dedicated to providing the best possible service to their customers, and their new venture into quick-commerce is another step towards achieving this goal.
