The app is live on Google Play and is only available to a select number of users. Inc42 could verify the availability of the service in limited pockets of Delhi NCR
On the app, Minutes claims to offer “zero platform fees”, discounts and free deliveries on orders above ₹99
This comes barely a day after Flipkart began piloting its food delivery service, called Eat In, among its employees in Bengaluru
Ecommerce giant Flipkart has launched a standalone app for its quick commerce service, Minutes.
The app, which is still in beta mode, is live on Google Play Store. However, it is only available for a select number of users. Inc42 could verify the availability of the service in limited pockets of Delhi NCR.
On the app, Minutes claims to offer “zero platform fees”, discounts and free deliveries on orders above ₹99. The product catalogue currently includes kitchen staples, fruits, gourmet products and other daily essentials.
The limited launch suggests that Flipkart is testing the app’s performance and customer experience before making it available more widely.
The dedicated app marks a shift from Flipkart Minutes’ earlier positioning as a service housed within the main Flipkart application. By giving Minutes its own interface, Flipkart is likely looking to create a more focused experience for customers looking to buy products quickly, while also building a separate identity for the business.
The app launch comes amid intensifying competition in the Indian quick commerce arena as rivals Blinkit, Zepto and Swiggy Instamart continue to invest heavily in dark stores, delivery networks and customer discounts.
Meanwhile, Flipkart too has been aggressively scaling its dark store and banking on its ecommerce network effects to narrow the gap with established players.
As of June, Minutes boasted 1,000 micro-fulfilment centres across 130 cities. At the time, Flipkart Minutes head Kunal Gupta reportedly said the company planned to expand the network to 1,500 centres across 180 cities.
Last week, brokerage firm UBS said that Minutes could add another 1,000 dark stores by mid-2027, ahead of next year’s Big Billion Days sale. If the expansion materialises, it would nearly double Minutes’ network to around 2,000 stores.
Giving an insight into Flipkart’s quick commerce operation, the UBS report noted that Minutes dark stores clock an average of 800-1,000 orders per day, while mature stores (operational for five to six months) process around 1,200-1,500 orders daily.
The report also noted Minutes’ net order value, excluding mobile phones, stands at ₹500-₹530, while metro cities contribute around 60%-65% of demand on the platform. UBS also added that Minutes’ gross margins are improving but remain well below Blinkit’s.
Meanwhile, Flipkart is also exploring additional categories and services around its quick commerce infrastructure.
Flipkart’s Food Delivery Tryst
Minutes’ standalone app went live barely hours after Flipkart began piloting its food delivery service, called Eat In, among its employees in Bengaluru.
As per Bussiness, the Walmart-owned ecommerce giant plans to roll out the offering to all Flipkart employees by September 15. It will then subsequently debut the food delivery platform for end consumers in Bengaluru.
As reported by Inc42 earlier this month, Minutes will initially manage orders and fulfilment. With roughly 500 Mn registered users and around 40 Mn SuperCoins users, Flipkart has a large base to which it can cross-sell food orders without starting from zero.
To minimise cash burn during rollout, Flipkart initially plans to leverage Ekart’s logistics network and ONDC integration for restaurant onboarding. It is also centring its pitch on merchant economics and is considering a base commission of 12%-13% to address the restaurant industry’s main grievances against Zomato and Swiggy.
While Flipkart will be looking to tap into its deep pockets to challenge the duopoly of Eternal’s Zomato and Swiggy, scale alone has not helped earlier challengers. Amazon Food, Ola, Paytm, Tata Neu and others previously tried and failed to alter consumer behaviour.
At the heart of all this is India’s growing foodtech ecosystem, which is reportedly projected to become a $46 Bn opportunity by 2034.