Flipkart Minutes Bullish on Quick Commerce Uptick

New Delhi, Aug 18 (PTI) Flipkart Minutes, the quick-commerce service of Walmart-owned Flipkart, on Monday said it is upbeat about the festive season prospects, after witnessing strong buying sentiments during Raksha Bandhan, Independence Day sales, and Janmashtami, as customers increasingly lean on instant deliveries amid festivities and celebrations.

The platform, which marked one year of operations, said it has recorded 50 per cent month-on-month growth, clocked over 50 million unique visitors since its launch in August 2024.

Flipkart Minutes said it is doubling order volumes every 45 days, and is also halfway to the target of launching 800 dark stores across the country.

As Flipkart Minutes enters the second year of operations, the focus is on strengthening technology backbone, expanding into new cities that are witnessing increased demand for quick commerce, deepening partnerships with brands and enhancing the overall customer experience.

Flipkart Minutes Vice President Kabeer Biswas told PTI, "We believe there is a lot of latent demand for customers just wanting everything to come to them much faster".

A combination of enablers such as availability of space and gig workforce, along with the growing ease of digital payments and online shopping habits, is fuelling, and will continue to support the rapid growth of quick commerce in the country, according to him.

"There are a number of factors playing out. In India, you saw the jump from 2G to 4G, and not 3G in between. I think that quick commerce business is a little similar to that...

"People they have gone ahead and used a lot of on demand services, they have learnt what online purchases feels like, a bunch of them wanting to buy daily essentially and products etc has moved online really quickly. Because it is the way they have gone ahead and learnt how to transact online (conveniently). Then there are larger macro factors also," he said.

Flipkart Minutes' line up has expanded to over 900 categories, including food and beverages, essentials, personal care, electronics, and lifestyle-led segments. The platform said it has seen strong response in the smartphone segment with nearly 5 lakh smartphones and over 20 lakh consumer electronics units being sold in the first year.

This Raksha Bandhan, Flipkart Minutes recorded 30 times surge in gifting orders, underlining the growing trend among consumers to rely on quick commerce for time-sensitive moments.

The most active shopping window on the app was observed between 7 pm and 9 pm, with 8 pm emerging as the single busiest hour for Rakhi gifting.

"There is a lot of positive sentiment. We are seeing a lot of upbeat moments be it Rakhi, Independence Day sales, Janmashtami, so we have a great path for festivity and we are very, very bullish," Hemant Badri, Senior Vice President and Head of Supply Chain, Customer Experience, Re-Commerce and Minutes, Flipkart, said.

Flipkart Minutes currently has presence in 19 cities and more than 2,900 pincodes.

For the upcoming festival season, Flipkart Minutes said it will increase inventory depth in high-demand categories, including daily essentials, mobiles, consumer electronics, gifting, and festive-specific assortments.

The platform will leverage its AI-led demand forecasting to anticipate buying patterns across regions and ensure the right products are available in-time in locations that it operates in.

Ekart's last-mile network and dark store capacity are being also spruced up to manage significantly higher orders per day during the peak period.