Walmart's Flipkart and Amazon are significantly increasing their quick commerce expansion in India, targeting smaller cities to compete with domestic players. According to recent reports, Flipkart has touched 1,000 stores and plans to reach 1,500 within months, while Amazon is expanding its ultra-fast delivery service "Now" to 300 Indian cities from more than 15 currently. This rapid expansion comes as the two global giants compete in the $11-billion quick commerce sector that has boomed in India and reshaped shopping patterns in the world's most populous nation. The announcement comes nearly two months after Amazon unveiled an aggressive quick commerce strategy that included expanding Now to 100 cities and building out a network of over 1,000 micro-fulfilment centres, with the new target of 300 cities signalling a significant acceleration in those plans.
FMCG companies are significantly increasing their advertising and promotional spending on digital channels as quick commerce becomes a larger part of their sales mix and a key platform for product discovery. According to reports from Moneycontrol, Nestle India, maker of Maggi noodles and KitKat chocolates, has consistently raised its spending on quick commerce channels as quick commerce sales grow. Dabur India, which produces Hajmola candy and Real fruit juice, has also reworked its digital spending mix to maintain overall advertising and promotion spends while growing market share across categories. For Amazon, quick commerce is increasingly becoming a strategic priority rather than an adjacent offering as consumer expectations shift towards near-instant delivery across a wider range of categories, forcing ecommerce giants to build quick commerce capabilities to defend market share and drive customer engagement.
Quick commerce platforms have experienced substantial revenue growth, with advertising revenue rising steadily in recent years. As reported by Moneycontrol, IPO-bound quick commerce company Zepto said in its updated draft red herring prospectus that its advertising revenue rose 151 percent to ₹1,636 crore in FY26 from ₹651 crore in FY25. This outpaced the company's overall revenue growth of 104 percent during the year, making brand spends a larger part of their business model. The move comes amid heightened competition in India's quick commerce sector, with Blinkit continuing to rapidly add dark stores and remaining the market leader, while Zepto is preparing for an initial public offering and expanding its footprint.
For Dabur, quick commerce now accounts for 70 percent of e-commerce sales, up from 50 percent in the December quarter, according to CEO Mohit Malhotra after the company's March quarter results. The channel is growing at nearly 50 percent, as reported by Moneycontrol. Anand Ramanathan, partner and consumer industry leader at Deloitte South Asia, explained that the ratio of sales from quick commerce platforms has been rising steadily, with new products typically requiring more promotion as quick commerce becomes a great platform for product discovery. The Walmart-owned Flipkart Minutes plans to expand its dark store network from 1,000 to 1,500 locations by the end of 2026, while betting heavily on tier-2 and tier-3 markets, with smaller cities already showing stronger grocery basket economics than several metro markets and expected to drive a significant share of future demand.
The increased spending reflects competitive intensity and the need for new product development amid rising competition from direct-to-consumer brands and private labels. As reported by Moneycontrol, Hindustan Unilever has created a dedicated quick commerce organisation to improve effectiveness on the channel. CEO Priya Nair stated that the organisation focuses on both demand generation and end-to-end go-to-market capabilities to serve quick commerce differently from general trade. Alongside the expansion announcement, Amazon also launched Sammaan, a welfare programme for delivery associates that includes scholarships, insurance benefits and the expansion of its Ashray rest centre network, highlighting the industry's focus on building sustainable infrastructure beyond just geographic expansion.
