Quick Commerce: The Discount Wars Heat Up as Delivery Speeds Soar

As per news reports, discounting in India’s quick commerce sector has intensified sharply. As of June 2025, average discounts have reached 20-25% of maximum retail prices, compared to less than 10%, 2 years ago. The increase spans multiple categories, including groceries, packaged foods, and personal care products.

Players in the Market

The entry of new platforms like Amazon Now and Flipkart Minutes has added pressure to an already competitive market. There are now 8 major players, including Eternal-backed Blinkit, Zepto, Swiggy Instamart, and Reliance’s JioMart. Earlier, the space was largely dominated by 3 to 4 players.

Read more: Amazon Rolls Out Quick Commerce Service ‘Now’ in Bengaluru!

Category-Wise Breakdown

Personal care items are seeing the highest discounts, reaching up to 35%. Home care, packaged food, and beverages are also being heavily marked down. In contrast, dairy products remain at around a 5% discount due to thinner margins. Prices for fresh produce vary significantly by platform and are generally excluded from comparative pricing due to inconsistent quality.

Expansion Plans 

As per Economic Times news reports, Flipkart’s Minutes currently operates 400 dark stores and is targeting 800 Micro warehouses by year-end. Amazon Now has gone live in select Bengaluru areas with a network of 10-15 dark stores, and plans to expand to Mumbai and Delhi-NCR. Existing players continue to scale up operations in parallel.

Push Towards Larger Orders

According to Jefferies' report, Bulk-buy programmes like Zepto’s Super Saver and Instamart’s Maxxsaver are being used to offer higher discounts on baskets over ₹1,000. These models help platforms reduce the number of deliveries and lower packaging costs, while staying price-competitive.

Rising Cash Burn and Losses

Monthly burn across the quick commerce sector has increased to ₹1,300-1,500 crore, as per an Economic Times report. Blinkit’s parent company reported a net profit of ₹39 crore in Q4 FY25, down from ₹175 crore a year earlier. Swiggy’s net loss stood at ₹1,081 crore for the same period.

Conclusion

With more players entering the segment and spending heavily on discounts and expansion, quick commerce continues to operate in a high-burn, low-margin environment.

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