The idea that Indian consumers will always pay extra for faster delivery is perhaps being questioned. A December 2025 study by Jefferies shows that price, not speed, is once again becoming the deciding factor in online grocery purchases, even in large cities like Bengaluru.
Jefferies’ findings point to a growing gap between quick-commerce platforms that built their businesses around instant delivery and large technology-led e-commerce companies that are now competing hard on prices. According to the brokerage, this gap is showing up clearly in basket pricing, delivery rules, fee structures, and user traffic data.
Amazon Now and Flipkart Minutes set the price benchmark, Jefferies finds
Jefferies’ mystery shopping exercise compared grocery prices across major platforms in Bengaluru using a standard household basket of around 35 products. The basket had a printed maximum retail price of about Rs 12,000 and was designed to represent the monthly needs of an upper-middle-class family.
According to Jefferies, Amazon Now offered the lowest total basket price, with an average discount of 23%. Flipkart Minutes and Avenue Supermarts‘s DMart Ready followed closely behind, while Blinkit, Zepto, Swiggy Instamart and BB Now were priced higher.
Jefferies notes that Amazon Now is still not available in several neighbourhoods and delivery zones. Even with this limited reach, it emerged as the cheapest option in the study. The brokerage says this shows how aggressively large technology platforms are pricing groceries as they compete directly with quick-commerce specialists.
Blinkit faces a zero-price-leader problem: Jefferies
One of the most striking findings in the Jefferies study is that Blinkit did not offer the lowest price for a single product across the entire sample basket.
Jefferies says that while Blinkit has built a strong consumer recall around fast delivery, it sits at the lower end of the discount range, with overall basket discounts of around 16 to 17%. This compares with Amazon Now’s 23% and similarly aggressive pricing by Flipkart Minutes.
According to Jefferies, this creates a risk for platforms that are not leading on price in any category. As discounting across the industry continues to rise, platforms like Blinkit may face pressure to cut prices further to defend volumes, even if that affects margins.
Personal care discounts of 35% intensify margin pressure: Jefferies
Jefferies says the price war is most intense in personal care products, which recorded average discounts of about 35%, the highest among all categories in the basket.
Personal care items made up roughly one-third of the total basket value. Jefferies found that Amazon Now led this category on pricing, which played a major role in lowering its total basket cost.
In contrast, dairy products recorded average discounts of only about 5%. Jefferies explains that dairy offers very limited room for price cuts because margins are already thin. As a result, companies looking to deepen discounts are concentrating on categories like personal care, packaged food and staples.
Jefferies also notes that discounts were higher in November 2025, partly due to GST-related adjustments. The brokerage believes December pricing gives a more realistic view of current competitive intensity.
Higher fees and delivery bars add to pressure on Blinkit and Swiggy, Jefferies says
Beyond product prices, Jefferies highlights differences in fees and delivery conditions across platforms.
According to the study, Blinkit and BB Now are among the few platforms that continue to charge platform or handling fees. Most other platforms have removed these charges.
Jefferies also points to a clear delivery gap. Amazon Now, Zepto and Flipkart Minutes offer free delivery on orders above Rs 99. Blinkit and Swiggy Instamart require a minimum order value of Rs 199 for free delivery.
Jefferies says this combination of higher item prices, additional fees and higher delivery thresholds increases the final amount paid by customers on Blinkit and Swiggy Instamart, especially for smaller grocery orders.
User growth slows despite heavy discounting, Jefferies observes
Jefferies also reviewed app traffic data from SensorTower to assess how users are responding to these price cuts.
The data shows that monthly active users declined for almost all major platforms in November 2025. DMart Ready recorded the largest decline, followed by JioMart and Zepto. Blinkit and Swiggy also saw a fall in users, though at a slower pace.
Jefferies notes that JioMart was the only platform to record an increase in app downloads during the same period. The brokerage says this suggests that higher discounts alone are no longer enough to guarantee user growth.
How Jefferies describes current competitive situation
Jefferies compares the current state of India’s e-grocery market to a discount treadmill. Platforms are increasing discounts to hold on to users, while large technology companies have pushed pricing even lower. As a result, companies face a choice between matching lower prices or risking a loss of volumes.
Jefferies says the pressure is most visible for listed players such as Zomato, Swiggy and Avenue Supermarts, where pricing decisions directly affect margins and earnings visibility.