Quick Commerce Platforms Surge as India's Festive Season Kicks Off

India's festive shopping season has ignited an unprecedented boom in the quick commerce sector, with major platforms reporting record-breaking traffic and sales figures. The surge in demand highlights the growing preference for rapid delivery services among Indian consumers during peak shopping periods.

Flipkart Minutes Sees Explosive Growth

Flipkart Minutes, a key player in the quick commerce arena, witnessed extraordinary activity during The Big Billion Days Early Access period:

• Over 45 lakh unique visitors flocked to the platform
• Order volumes doubled compared to regular days
• New customer acquisition grew 2.6 times in the first hour
• The platform achieved its fastest delivery, with an iPhone reaching a customer in under three minutes

The iPhone emerged as the star product, becoming the highest-selling item. One particularly notable transaction saw a customer's cart value soar to ₹1.57 lakh, marking the most valuable order during the event.

Instamart's Quick India Movement Sale

Swiggy's Instamart also experienced a significant uptick in its Quick India Movement Sale:

• Traffic surged fivefold within the first 12 hours
• iPhone searches peaked coinciding with the iPhone series launch
• Phone orders skyrocketed, growing nearly 20 times within two hours
• The fastest iPhone delivery was completed in Pune in just seven minutes

Geographic Trends

The quick commerce boom was not limited to major metropolitan areas:

• Metro cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, and Kolkata saw a two-fold increase in orders
• Tier-2 cities, including Pune, Ambala, Chandigarh, and Panchkula, recorded even more impressive growth with a four-fold increase
• Both Flipkart Minutes and Instamart reported significant expansion in Tier-2 cities

Popular Categories

While smartphones, particularly iPhones, dominated the sales, other popular categories included:

• Electronics
• Home essentials (e.g., bedsheets)
• Everyday products

Zepto Joins the Fray

Not to be left behind, Zepto launched its "Fastest Sale Ever," offering:

• Discounts of up to 90%
• 10-minute delivery promise

Quick Commerce's Growing Impact

The quick commerce sector is poised to make a substantial impact on India's e-commerce landscape during this festive season:

• Expected to account for 12% of projected festive e-commerce sales
• Represents nearly ₹14,000 crore of the anticipated ₹1.2 lakh crore in total festive e-commerce sales

As the festive season progresses, quick commerce platforms are demonstrating their ability to meet the demands of time-sensitive consumers, potentially reshaping the future of online shopping in India. The record-breaking performance across multiple platforms underscores the sector's growing importance in the country's rapidly evolving e-commerce ecosystem.