Flipkart crosses 1,000 micro-fulfillment centers in India quick-commerce race

Flipkart’s quick-commerce arm, Minutes, has crossed 1,000 micro-fulfillment centers in India and plans to add 500 more neighbourhood warehouses within months, pushing the network to 1,500. The Walmart-backed company launched Minutes in August 2024 and now reaches more than 130 cities, with about 70% of that footprint in smaller towns and cities rather than just major metros.

Flipkart said orders on Minutes have risen five times over the past year, while smaller towns and cities have produced 42 times higher sales. The quick-commerce market is valued at about $11 billion.

Amazon Now is expanding to 100 cities with more than 1,000 micro-fulfillment centers, and it has announced more than 100 larger-format Urban Fulfillment Centers. Those sites are meant to offer about four times more selection, including apparel, electronics, jewellery, shoes, luggage, watches, wireless accessories, musical instruments and furniture, with the first rollouts set for Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi-NCR, Hyderabad and Mumbai. The expansion is backed by more than INR 2,800 crore in investment.

Flipkart’s product mix goes beyond groceries into mobiles and electronics. Amazon is using larger fulfillment sites to widen selection while still promising rapid delivery. The market already has more than 6,000 dark stores in operation, with Blinkit above 2,200 stores and Swiggy Instamart above 1,100.

In January, India’s government ordered companies to stop advertising grocery deliveries as “10-minute” service.