The rapid pickup in the pace of online shopping, especially after the Covid-19 pandemic has led to aggressive expansion of dark store networks by food delivery and quick commerce platforms. Be it Instamart by Swiggy, Blinkit or Zepto, the online platforms are looking to speed up deliveries and widen service coverage at every step.
Swiggy: Total 1,143 dark store outlets
After the recent Q4 earnings announcement. Swiggy stated that it has spent Rs 6,150.53 crore out of the Rs 7,554 crore allocated from its IPO proceeds on expanding dark stores through its subsidiary, Scootsy Logistics Private Limited, as of March 31, 2026.
Swiggy’s total dark store count stood at 1,143 across 129 cities at the end of FY26 after adding seven dark stores in Q4FY26.
The total dark store area increased to more than 4.8 million sq ft, marking a 21.1% year-on-year increase.
Eternal targets 3,000 dark stores
Meanwhile, rival Eternal had fully deployed the Rs 2,137 crore earmarked for setting up and running dark stores and warehouses from the proceeds of its Rs 8,500 crore qualified institutional placement (QIP).
Eternal plans to have a total of 3,000 dark stores. Eternal Management said in its Q4 earning call, “we’re on track with our guidance for March of 3,000 stores. We remain firmly on track. We’re not going to give any guidance beyond that.”
Swiggy’s Instamart still far from profitability, says JM Financial
Brokerage firm JM Financial believes Swiggy’s quick commerce business Instamart is still struggling to achieve profitability despite lower consumer incentives and limited dark store expansion.
JM Financial said order-per-store growth remained weak even after slower network expansion. Instamart’s net order value (NOV) rose 3.7% quarter-on-quarter and 60.2% year-on-year to Rs 5,670 crore.
On the gross order value (GOV) front also, Swiggy’s quick commerce arm Instamart lagged peers in Q4FY26, with GOV rising just 68.8%, well below Blinkit’s 95.4% increase.
“We continue to ascribe zero value to Instamart, supply chain and platform innovation segments given the lack of visibility on a turnaround and the increasing probability of prolonged value destruction,” JM Financial said.
Conclusion
Dark stores, mini warehouses designed like supermarkets from the outside but remain closed to walk-in customers, have become central to the quick commerce business model as companies compete to offer faster delivery timelines and improve service coverage across cities. These facilities are used exclusively to process and fulfill online orders, particularly for quick commerce deliveries.