Quick commerce giants split strategies as new rivals close in
As Swiggy bets on megapods, Blinkit on variety, and Zepto on price, the 2026 quick commerce landscape is dynamic. With flush capital, incumbents face renewed pressure from Amazon and JioMart, making this a pivotal year for the sector's evolution.
The phrase "same same but different" applies to Swiggy Instamart, Blinkit and Zepto as each player has found a unique approach to win customers in the highly-competitive quick commerce segment.
According to a recent outlook report by investment management firm Bernstein, the very definition of quick commerce will evolve in 2026.
Eternal's Blinkit has emerged as a last minute store, relying on the promise of a wider range, quality and delivery timelines. Analysts are looking at it as a replacement for the neighbourhood mom & pop stores as well as local markets for seasonal general merchandise.
Sriharsha Majety-led Swiggy is banking on a larger assortment as it looks to challenge for market leader position in the game. It has emerged as a competitor for large ecommerce players as it looks to "capture the traditional long-haul e-commerce wallet share in addition to the instant wallet share," stated the brokerage.
According to the company's latest quarterly update, about 50% of its dark store net additions in the September quarter were megapods or large format dark stores. These stores have a capacity to house 50,000 plus SKUs. The large assortment helps in increasing the composition of non-grocery items and pushing average order values up.
The only remaining private company out of the three, Zepto, is primarily focusing on product price discounting to acquire and retain consumers. It has also been steadily increasing its assortment. The company has also rationalised its focus on Zepto Cafe and picked up discounting.
While consumers are already sold on the utility of quick commerce and investors see profitability ahead, the market is not yet fully mature. Key questions about the actual size of the market across different categories, the viability of unit economics for these new strategies, and the challenges of on-ground execution, remain unanswered.
Incoming players like Amazon Now, JioMart, Flipkart Minutes and even BigBasket have now renewed their efforts after sitting on the sidelines. According to SensorTower data cited by Bernstein, JioMart surpassed Blinkit in daily active user growth.
"The challenger platforms—Flipkart, Amazon, JioMart, Big Basket—also have potential to generate significant capital backing from their parent companies and can always "find" capital if the opportunity is large enough and unit economics seem plausible," stated the note.
The year 2026 is expected to emerge as a crucial year with major players flush with capital picking their bets for deployment. Zepto filed its IPO paper confidentially in December after raising $450 million. Both Swiggy and Eternal are flush with cash about $2 billion each after their institutional placements.
Amazon has committed Rs 2,000 crore to improve logistics and double down on its dark store expansion. Flipkart is also actively building its war chest by offloading external investments ahead of a likely IPO this year. The Walmart-backed player fully exited its stake in trucking platform BlackBuck, Aditya Birla Lifestyle Brands, as well as Flying Machine brand entity last year. It is also selling shares worth Rs 400 crore in logistics company ShadowFax's IPO this month.