Aggressive fee waivers in quick commerce announced in early November have failed to arrest the slide in new app downloads, with Zepto taking the sharpest hit despite offering the most generous incentives, according to the latest data from app intelligence platform Sensor Tower.
Zepto, which was the first to eliminate all handling, surge, rain, and convenience fees for orders above Rs 99 in early November, saw its new app downloads plunge 44% month-on-month. Downloads dropped from 3.62 million in October to just 2.01 million in November—its weakest monthly performance in the ten-month period from February to November, acoording to Sensor Tower.
Zepto witnesses fewer downloads than peers
While a decline in downloads was expected across the sector as the market cooled following the Diwali festive surge in October, Zepto’s drop was disproportionately steep compared to its peers.
Eternal-owned Blinkit, which has maintained its Rs 4 handling fee and opted against any fee waivers, recorded a far milder 18.5% month-on-month decline (from 8.89 million to 7.24 million). Zomato’s main app corrected by 26%, while Swiggy’s standalone Instamart app dropped by 13.5%. The disparity suggests that Zepto’s aggressive pricing strategy did little to shield it from the post-festive slump.
Blinkit leads the sector
Cumulative data from February to November highlights a consolidating hierarchy in the segment. Blinkit remains the undisputed leader with 76.01 million new downloads—58% higher than the second-placed standalone Instamart app (48.18 million).
Zomato’s main app followed closely with 46.04 million downloads, narrowly ahead of Bigbasket’s 45.08 million. Zepto, despite topping February with 7.70 million downloads that month, ended the period in fifth place with 43.13 million cumulative downloads, underscoring the sharpness of its decline. Swiggy’s main app ranked last with just 36 million cumulative downloads.
The outperformance of Swiggy’s standalone Instamart app (48.18 million) relative to the main Swiggy app (36 million), which offers both food and grocery delivery, suggests consumers increasingly prefer dedicated quick commerce apps over bundled experiences.
These findings raise questions about the effectiveness of aggressive cash-burning tactics in India’s increasingly saturated quick commerce landscape. The implications are especially significant for Zepto as it prepares for a potential public listing, having recently converted into a public limited company. Analysts viewed Zepto’s fee waivers as an attempt to accelerate market share expansion ahead of its IPO.
However, industry observers note that while app downloads are a crucial top-of-funnel metric, they do not reflect retention rates or average order values—factors that could paint a more nuanced picture of competitive positioning.