Quick commerce is not affecting local kirana stores: Deepinder Goyal

Quick commerce platform Blinkit is not affecting local kirana stores; rather, it's capturing market share from existing e-commerce platforms, says Zomato co-founder and CEO Deepinder Goyal.

Speaking at the ET Startup Awards event, Goyal remarked, “The growth of quick commerce has been a surprise for us as well. We didn't think it would grow this much.”

Zomato's quick commerce division, Blinkit, achieved revenues of Rs 942 crore in the first quarter of FY25, marking a substantial increase from Rs 384 crore during the same period last year. The platform also reported a gross order value (GOV) of Rs 4,923 crore, reflecting a 130% year-on-year growth in the April-June quarter.

Goyal stated, “Blinkit is not really eating into the kiranas at all. It is not even affecting companies like Dmart. I think we're more or less eating into the Amazons and the Flipkarts, the ecommerce sector, as well as the modern retail in the larger cities.”

Blinkit aims to expand its network of dark stores to 2,000 by the end of 2026. In its quarterly report, the company clarified that it is not taking market share from small mom-and-pop kirana stores or value-driven large-format retailers like Dmart. CEO Albinder Dhindsa attributed Blinkit's growth to rising consumer demand and a shift in market share from next-day e-commerce and mid-premium modern retail in major cities.

Quick commerce platforms are evolving into horizontal online marketplaces, offering a wider variety of products and driving increased sales. Leading players in this sector include Mumbai-based Zepto and Swiggy’s Instamart, with Walmart-owned Flipkart also entering the quick commerce race through its service, Minutes.