Flipkart’s Quick-Commerce Network Reaches 1,000 Micro-Fulfillment Centers as India’s E-Commerce Battle Heats Up
Walmart-backed Flipkart announced its Minutes service has built 1,000 micro-fulfillment centers, with plans to reach 1,500 by end of 2026, as Amazon and rivals ramp up their fast-delivery operations in India.
Flipkart, the Walmart-owned e-commerce company, said Wednesday that its quick-commerce service Minutes has reached a milestone of 1,000 micro-fulfillment centers—small, strategically located warehouses enabling deliveries in minutes—less than two years after its launch. The company aims to expand the network to 1,500 such centers by the end of 2026, reinforcing its position in India’s fiercely competitive quick-commerce sector.
According to a recent note by Jefferies, Flipkart could become the second-largest quick-commerce network in India by micro-fulfillment center count, trailing only Blinkit, which operates 2,243 centers. Rivals Zepto and Swiggy Instamart are also expanding their networks, while Amazon is accelerating the rollout of Amazon Now.
Flipkart Minutes, launched in August 2024, has seen demand increasingly come from categories like electronics, beauty, and personal care, rather than just groceries. Order volumes have grown about 400% year-over-year, and customer retention has improved 20%, the company reported, though the figures could not be independently verified.
The service is now available in over 130 cities and 8,000 postal codes, with growth particularly strong in smaller cities, which saw more than 4,000% growth from a year earlier after entering 90 new cities. Cities like Patna, Guwahati, and Siliguri are ramping up faster than expected, and Lucknow is one of the best-performing markets, according to Kunal Gupta, head of Flipkart Minutes.
Amazon is also betting on smaller markets, noting that 70% of new Prime members come from such areas and that it remains on track to double its Prime membership base from 2023 levels by year-end. Amazon Now, currently in over 15 cities with more than 500 centers, plans to expand to 100 cities with over 1,000 centers while broadening its assortment beyond groceries into apparel, electronics, and home products.
Flipkart said customers use Minutes alongside its main e-commerce platform, driving more frequent purchases and expanding into fresh produce and daily essentials. Average order values for fruits and vegetables rose 30% year-over-year. The company plans to continue opening 75 to 100 micro-fulfillment centers monthly and entering additional cities. "We will continue to expand rapidly, will not slow down after 1,000 stores as well, and we are going all in," Gupta said.
