The move is part of Walmart-owned Flipkart's strategy to take on Zepto, Zomato’s Blinkit and Swiggy Instamart in the fast-growing quick commerce sector during the upcoming festival season, the report said.
Executives expect a significant portion of sales to come from the fast delivery segment, fuelled by expansions into non-grocery categories and early preparations.
Currently, Flipkart Minutes, a service aimed at fast delivery, is being tested with select users. "It is expected to launch in the next couple of weeks," ET quotes a source as saying. "Initially, the service will be stabilised in certain locations before scaling up."
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The focus is on ensuring these dark stores, which serve as mini warehouses for quicker deliveries, are fully operational and tested under various demand scenarios before the festival season, the report added.
Flipkart has reportedly initiated testing with employees at its Bengaluru headquarters, with a nearby dark store in operation.
Flipkart has not commented on these developments. Moneycontrol could not independently verify the report.
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The company closed a funding round of nearly $1 billion in May. Competitors in the ecommerce space have also recently raised substantial capital, indicating a competitive push in the market.
"Internal focus is primarily on the quick commerce launch, alongside preparations for the core ecommerce operations during the festive season," one of the sources said.
Flipkart Minutes will initially feature products such as vegetables, fruits, groceries, and electronics, expanding its offerings over time.
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