Chips, colas, condoms rule shopping carts on Blinkit, Zepto, Instamart in 2024

Quick commerce new year trends

From 1.75 crore packs of Maggi on Blinkit to 12 lakh packets of Lay’s Magic Masala on Zepto and 2.7 lakh toothbrushes on Swiggy Instamart - customers went gung-ho on quick commerce in 2024.

This year was all about quick deliveries, be it groceries, mobile phones, laptops, medicines or even fashion. As such, 2024 saw several interesting and, somewhat obscure, purchases being made on quick commerce platforms.

Some deliveries broke all speed limits in 2024. Zepto delivered its fastest order of the year in only 25 seconds, while Instamart completed its fastest delivery 180 metres away in Kochi in just 89 seconds.

Instamart has emerged as the fastest player in the rapidly accelerating quick commerce space with an average delivery time of 8 minutes, outpacing its competitors Zepto at 9 minutes and market leader Blinkit at 11 minutes, according to a recent report by JP Morgan.

Companies like Instamart and Zepto are now offering users 2,4z7 deliveries to meet their quick commerce needs.

Snacks lovers drive sales

Soft drinks and snacks were a big hit on quick commerce channels. Blinkit saw as many as 1.85 crore Coca-Cola cans, 84 lakh bottles of Thums Up, 14.6 lakh bottles of Maaza in 2024. In fact, a single user ordered 1,203 bottles of Sprite during the year.

Most of the demand for snacks on Instamart came from Delhi, where users spent as much as Rs 60 crore on instant noodles. They also splurged on potato chips, with more than 43 snack lovers spending over Rs 75,000 on chips this year. The top chip fanatics on Instamart also came from cities like Hyderabad, Chennai, Kochi, and Kolkata.

Over 2 crore snacks were ordered between 12am and 4am on Zepto. Mumbai users alone purchased 31.5 lakh snacks during the same time.

Festivals ring in the cheer

Festivities played a big role in driving up a lot of sales for quick commerce players in 2024 as well. A Zepto user from Gurugram purchased 707 pooja essentials during the year.

A similarly devoted customer from Ahmedabad spent a staggering Rs 8.3 lakh on gold coins on Instamart, setting to gold standard on Dhanteras. The rest of India, on the other hand, spent as much as Rs 45 lakh on brooms on Diwali through Instamart, and customers in Delhi splurged Rs 4.6 lakh on poker chips on the same day.

Love was in the air on the Valentine's Day, when Instamart users ordered 307 roses per minute, while Bengaluru users on Zepto ordered 8.25 lakh roses across the entire year. While Blinkit users in Mumbai bought 17.6 lakh condoms, Zepto delivered 4 lakh condoms in Bengaluru. Not to be outdone, one in every 140 orders on Instamart comprised a sexual wellness product, with the top spender on condoms on the platform hailing from Bengaluru.

Big spenders and obscure purchases

The big spenders on Instamart hailed from Delhi and Dehradun in 2024, splurging over Rs 20 lakh on the platform this year, with products like atta, milk, and oil filling their carts. In fact, milk, curd, dosa batter, chips, and soft drinks were among the top five products sold on the platform.

When it came to individual spenders, a Mumbai resident spent over Rs 15 lakh this year on pet supplies, primarily dog and cat foods. Another pet lover from Chennai stocked up with 5,234 quantities of pet food from Zepto.

In terms of obscure purchases, someone ordered 55 bottles of Fevicol in a single order on Blinkit.

In Kolkata, 96 packs of Tata Tea Gold kept a Zepto user caffeinated all year long. A user named Ravi from Hyderabad kept indigestion at bay by ordering 217 Eno bottles in 2024.

Someone from Hyderabad led the mango frenzy by spending Rs 35,000 on the fruit in May on Instamart, while a Chennai-based user splurged Rs 1.25 lakh on electronics, electricals and home appliances this year, picking up nearly 85 items.