Quick commerce market is expanding rapidly, but consumers are increasingly spreading purchases across multiple apps, lowering ordering frequency on individual platforms even as total order volumes continue to surge.
Quarterly disclosures from market leaders Blinkit and Swiggy Instamart showed that average ordering frequency declined over the past year despite strong growth in transactions. Blinkit’s monthly ordering frequency fell from 3.57 to 3.36, while annual order volumes rose 42% to 274 million. Instamart’s ordering frequency declined from 4.22 to 4.01 over five consecutive quarters even as orders increased 54% to 113 million.
The trend comes as competition in the sector intensifies, with at least seven players now operating at scale and collectively processing more than 10 million orders daily, according to industry estimates.
Scaling ops at Blinkit, Zepto and Big Basket
Blinkit, the market leader, now operates 2,243 dark stores and processes more than 3 million daily orders. Zepto has scaled to over 1,100 stores and 2.4-2.5 million daily orders, while Instamart runs 1,143 stores and handles around 1.25 million daily orders. BigBasket operates more than 850 dark stores, while newer entrants such as Flipkart Minutes and Amazon Now have expanded rapidly over the past year.
The rise in competition has widened consumer engagement across platforms rather than deepening loyalty to any single app.
Data tracked by CLSA using Sensor Tower showed Blinkit averaged 45.2 million weekly active users (WAU) during the March quarter, maintaining its lead in app engagement. Zepto averaged around 33-34 million WAU, while BigBasket recorded the fastest sequential growth and touched an all-time high of 20.4 million users in early May. The standalone Instamart app averaged about 9-10 million users, excluding customers accessing the service through Swiggy’s main app.
The data also pointed to sharp differences in retention and user quality across platforms. Blinkit converts around 24% of its all-time downloads into weekly active users, the highest in the sector, followed closely by Zepto at 23%. Instamart converts around 14%, while JioMart and DMart Ready lag significantly.
Analysts said the divergence reflects the different strategies emerging across the sector as platforms compete on speed, assortment, pricing and customer retention.
Blinkit has focused on faster delivery and wider assortment availability, while Instamart has expanded into higher-value baskets and private labels. BigBasket continues to lean on grocery depth and fresh produce, while newer entrants such as Flipkart Minutes, Amazon Now and JioMart are relying more heavily on discounts and promotions to acquire users.
Analysts said the declining ordering frequency at leading platforms does not indicate weakening demand for quick commerce overall, but reflects consumers increasingly using multiple apps simultaneously depending on pricing, delivery slots and product availability.
Zepto remains an outlier in the market, analysts said, retaining users at levels close to Blinkit despite operating with a more discount-led positioning, though some analysts cautioned that retention could come under pressure if promotional spending moderates.