Quick Commerce Giants Swiggy, Flipkart, Zepto Slash Fees to Capture Festive Shoppers Amidst Fierce Competition

In a strategic move to win over customers during the busy festive period, major quick commerce platforms in India, including Swiggy's Instamart, Flipkart's Minutes, and Zepto, are significantly reducing or completely removing various fees. This aggressive tactic comes as the sector faces intense competition and pressure to achieve profitability alongside growth.

Swiggy Instamart has introduced its 'MegaSavings Festival,' offering free delivery and waiving handling or surge charges on orders exceeding Rs 299. Flipkart's quick delivery service, Minutes, is providing free delivery with no platform fees and no additional charges for orders starting at Rs 99. Zepto, following a substantial $450 million fundraise, has also eliminated its platform fee and is offering free delivery without any minimum order requirement.

These fee waivers are crucial for attracting and retaining customers, especially high-frequency users. Platform fees and handling fees are typically used to cover operational costs like app maintenance, payment processing, and order fulfillment, and are direct contributors to platform revenue. The delivery charges are passed on to the riders. For Swiggy Instamart, these waivers could mean foregoing substantial revenue; it's estimated they might forgo close to Rs 99 crore in quarterly handling fee revenue based on past performance.

The competitive landscape is heating up. Zepto reportedly surpassed 20 lakh daily orders during Diwali week, heavily investing in offers and delivery speed. Meanwhile, Blinkit, owned by Zomato, is rapidly expanding its network, adding 271 new dark stores in Q2 FY26 and aiming for 3,000 by March 2027. Swiggy, in contrast, has shifted its strategy towards customer retention, adding fewer dark stores in Q2 FY26. Despite this, Swiggy Instamart demonstrated strong growth, with revenues rising 102% year-on-year in Q2 and Gross Order Value (GOV) more than doubling. Swiggy's board is also set to discuss a Rs 10,000 crore Qualified Institutional Placement (QIP) on November 7, which could bolster its financial standing for future growth.

Impact This news signifies an intensifying price war in the quick commerce sector. Companies are prioritizing market share and customer acquisition, potentially leading to squeezed profit margins in the short term. For investors, this highlights the high-growth, high-competition nature of this segment and the strategies employed by major players to gain an edge. The long-term impact will depend on how effectively these companies can achieve profitability after consolidating their market positions. Rating: 8/10

Difficult Terms: Quick Commerce: An online retail segment focused on the extremely fast delivery of goods, typically within minutes to an hour, directly to consumers' doorsteps. Dark Stores: Small, strategically located warehouse facilities that are not open to the public but are used for efficient picking and packing of orders for rapid delivery. Platform Fee: A charge levied by an online marketplace or service provider for using their platform, intended to cover operational costs such as app development, maintenance, and customer support. Handling Fee: A fee charged by a service provider for the process of managing an order, including picking items from inventory, packing them, and preparing them for shipment. Surge Charge: An additional fee applied during periods of exceptionally high demand, adverse weather conditions, or other circumstances that increase operational costs or strain capacity. Fundraise: The process by which companies obtain capital, typically from investors such as venture capitalists or angel investors, to finance operations, expansion, or new projects. QIP (Qualified Institutional Placement): A method used by listed companies to raise capital by issuing equity shares or other securities to a select group of qualified institutional buyers, such as mutual funds, insurance companies, and foreign institutional investors. Gross Order Value (GOV): The total monetary value of all orders placed through a platform before any deductions like discounts, returns, refunds, or cancellations are applied.