Blinkit To Venture Into 30-Minute Deliveries, Establishing Express Dark Stores To Compete With Amazon, Flipkart: Report
ABP News Bureau October 21, 2024 07:41 PM

Zomato-owned Blinkit is reportedly developing a new category of high-value items that will be delivered in 30 minutes, media reports said. The quick commerce platform, famous for its 10-minute grocery deliveries, is looking to diversify into new domains to help increase its profitability.

According to a report by Moneycontrol, sources familiar with the developments revealed that Blinkit is already gearing up to establish ‘express dark stores’ which will be used to deliver products like instant water heaters, jewellery, air purifier, and other high-value goods in 30 minutes.

This decision comes at a time when quick commerce players are looking to diversify their business as the market matures and look for more avenues to enhance their margins. Currently, Blinkit follows the standard 10-minute deliveries.

Notably, dark stores are becoming the heart for quick commerce operations. These warehouses are typically 3,000 to 4,000 square feet in size and help the companies make their deliveries in time. However, the express dark stores by Blinkit will be larger at nearly 7,000 to 8,000 square feet in size and will help store larger products that need more space, the report noted.

Quoting a source, the report said, “Work on this has already begun and Blinkit plans go live with the offering sometime mid of next financial year (FY26). The idea is to push up the company’s average order value (AOV) and compete more directly with the likes of Flipkart and Amazon.”

The AOV indicates the profit profile for the quick commerce players. Currently, Blinkit already has one of the highest AOVs in the rapid delivery market at Rs 614. In comparison, Swiggy Instamart and Zepto have AOVs in the Rs 450-480 range.

Notably, this isn’t the first time that rapid delivery players have looked into diversifying their domains. Tata’s BigBasket is also considering diving into the 30-minute delivery space. However, Blinkit will be amongst the first to venture into the industry so far.

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