Flipkart Minutes, company’s quick commerce offering, goes live in Bengaluru

Moneycontrol had earlier reported that Flipkart had given additional responsibilities to insider Hemant Badri to lead the company’s quick commerce ambitions.

Flipkart Minutes, the quick commerce arm of the etailer giant, has gone live in HSR, Bellandur and a few other areas of Bengaluru.

The launch comes at a time when quick commerce has become vital for the e-commerce sector with several companies like Zomato-owned Blinkit, Swiggy Instamart, Zepto and others battling for a dominant share in the fast-growing space.

Flipkart began firming up plans since at least March when it likely saw new entrants succeed in quick commerce. Given its e-commerce prowess, it was a natural choice for the company to toy with the idea of rapid delivery. To be sure, the company has piloted such an offering several times in the past, even before 15-20 minute deliveries became a rage in 2021, with Flipkart quick and others but this time the format is going to be different.

Moneycontrol had earlier reported that Flipkart had given additional responsibilities to insider Hemant Badri to lead the company’s quick commerce ambitions.

Users are receiving products in 8-16 minutes for now, which is largely in line with what most incumbents offer, as per screenshots seen by Moneycontrol. Flipkart is currently offering free deliveries for all orders above Rs 99 and is collecting Rs 5 as platform fee, a revenue stream that companies are tapping into for additional income.

Flipkart Minutes also says that if the order doesn't meet expectations, a customer can cancel or refuse to collect items at the doorstep, a feature no other company currently offers.

However, these are services offered to attract and grow the transacting base of customers. They are usually curbed once adoption picks up.