Flipkart to Open 100 Dark Stores Before Big Billion Days Sale: Report

Ahead of its big billion-day sale, e-commerce platform Flipkart is planning to launch around 100 dark stores in major cities. This is as per a report by the Economic Times. The service is already being tested by Flipkart at its Bengaluru headquarters. 

With the expansion of dark stories, the Walmart-owned retailer aims to compete with other quick commerce platforms, including Zepto, Blinkit, and Instamart, this holiday season. During the holiday season, the e-commerce platform is anticipating higher sales, with more people relying on quick commerce. Additionally, the quick commerce segment is also expanding to include more non-grocery items. 

The quick commerce market in India is growing exponentially. “Q-commerce, with a $2.8 billion current market size, is set to become a disruptive force, poised to reshape the retail industry as we know it,” as per a Redseer report. 

Meanwhile, Flipkart Minutes will reportedly launch in a couple of weeks, according to the report. Recently, Business Today reported that Flipkart Minutes would be launched in the second week of July. A source speaking to Business Today said, “With Flipkart Minutes, they are targeting 15-minute delivery.” 

The e-commerce platform had also made earlier attempts to enter the quick commerce segment with Flipkart Quick, which intended to make deliveries in ninety minutes, but it never took off. 

With a focus on scheduled delivery, Flipkart is also reportedly upgrading its grocery fulfillment centers for scheduled deliveries. The e-commerce platform recently opened a new grocery store in Jaipur, Rajasthan, marking its first in the state, according to the Business Today report. 

Another source told the Economic Times, “The focus internally is on the quick commerce launch. Work has begun on the core e-commerce festive season simultaneously, but this is a key area.” 

Speaking about the launch of Flipkart Minutes, a source speaking to the Economic Times said, “Given the way the market and consumer preferences have evolved, the service will first be stabilized in certain pockets and then scaled.”