Flipkart Minutes helped bring 50 million new visitors onto our platform, says SVP Hemant Badri

Badri said Flipkart Minutes’ AOV will be higher than those numbers as it focuses on mobiles and other high value items.

Flipkart Minutes, the quick commerce arm of Flipkart, has helped bring around 50 million new visitors onto Flipkart, the Walmart-owned e-commerce platform, Hemant Badri, Senior Vice President at the company, told Moneycontrol in an interview.

That is a significant addition especially because Flipkart has around 200 million annual active users and a total customer base of 500-600 million.

Flipkart was late to the quick commerce party having launched Flipkart Minutes only last year, about three years after industry players like Blinkit, Swiggy’s Instamart and Zepto had already begun operations. Despite that, the business has grown into a vital part of Flipkart and is now a key focus area for the company.

“That (Flipkart Minutes) has been a very good win. It is bringing us a lot of new customers. We have seen close to 50 million new visitors over the (past) year. Our mature stores are showing that the model we envisioned is panning out. So, long story short, I am quite surprised, in a positive way,” Badri said in the interview.

While Flipkart Minutes heavily focussed on fruits and vegetables (F&V) during its initial days, it is now bringing assortment from its main platform onto Flipkart Minutes to grow its catalogue and also push up average order values (AOVs).

“Our AOVs will be higher than the industry average,” as per Badri, who did not reveal specific numbers. For context, the top two players in the industry, Blinkit and Swiggy’s Instamart, have an AOV of Rs 650-700.

Badri said Flipkart Minutes’ AOV will be higher than those numbers as it focuses on mobiles and other high value items.

To further grow its business, Flipkart Minutes sees an opportunity in areas like pharma, gourmet selections, such as premium fruits and cheeses, and value-added services like product exchange for example.

Soon, it will also allow customers to trade in their old mobile phones, in exchange for a new product or otherwise, during a quick commerce purchase, to increase stickiness and keep them on the platform for longer by cross-selling services.

The increased push comes as Amazon, the company’s arch rival, also takes its quick commerce offering, Amazon Now, to several cities and pin codes, further intensifying a war that players such as Eternal-owned Blinkit, Swiggy’s Instamart and Zepto started. 

“We see significant room for growth by deepening selection and expanding store coverage,” Badri added.

Flipkart has around 200 million annual active users, a significant share from its customer base of 500-600 million. It currently has around 400 dark stores for Flipkart Minutes and is live in about 19 cities, with room to grow further despite a competitive environment.

Once Flipkart completes its Big Billion Days (BBD) sale event, it is positive its dark store network will scale to 800 stores, as per Badri, taking it closer to its rivals such as Blinkit, Swiggy’s Instamart, Zepto, Big Basket and others which have 800-1,000 stores each.

Badri has highlighted growth plans at a time when its parent Walmart has said it is not so focused on profitability that it would trade off market share and growth for the future.

At the same time, Walmart has also asked Flipkart group CEO Kalyan Krishnamurthy to cut monthly cash burn to $20 million from $40 million as it looks to rein in expenses, Moneycontrol had reported earlier.

Asked how the company would choose its priorities and what areas it would put on the backburner, Badri said: “Flipkart Minutes and grocery will continue to be priority areas, alongside other key functions. We want to be the market leader in areas that we’re present in. So, we’re reasonably clear where we'll invest and how we'll invest.”