Zepto has filed its updated draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with SEBI for a ₹9,500 crore ($1 billion) initial public offering, marking one of the year's most anticipated new-age listings. The five-year-old company plans to use the fresh capital for dark store expansion, technology investment and customer acquisition, targeting a July listing that would make it the first standalone quick commerce company to list on Indian stock exchanges. The IPO will comprise a fresh issue of shares worth ₹8,010 crore and an offer-for-sale (OFS) of 113 million shares by existing shareholders, with the company having filed confidential papers with SEBI in December 2025 and receiving regulatory approval in May. This development comes as India's quick commerce industry enters its most fiercely contested phase, with Zepto joining Blinkit parent Eternal and Instamart parent Swiggy as the third quick commerce player in the public market.
The competitive landscape has become increasingly intense, with Blinkit leading the market with more than 2,200 dark stores and 274 million orders processed during the January-March quarter, while Zepto processed 210 million orders in the same period and Swiggy Instamart handled 113 million orders. All three major players maintain between 1,100 and 1,200 dark stores each, with Blinkit, Zepto and Swiggy continuing to invest aggressively even as they face increasing pressure to improve profitability. The nature of competition has broadened beyond speed to encompass discounts, free delivery, product assortment, marketing spends and customer experience. Blinkit CEO Albinder Dhindsa acknowledged that rising competition pressures pricing, delivery fees, marketing, and store expansion, while Swiggy CEO Sriharsha Majety warned that the current intensity is unlikely to ease soon and the market may not sustain all existing players indefinitely.
Indian consumers are losing an estimated ₹25,000 crore to ₹28,000 crore annually due to deceptive interface designs known as dark patterns across online marketplaces, according to a comprehensive report by market research firm Datum Intelligence. The survey, conducted in the first quarter of 2026 among 2,590 consumers across 50 cities, revealed that 88 per cent of the country's 304 million online buyers lose approximately ₹78 to ₹87 per month each to hidden charges, forced add-ons, drip pricing, false urgency rules and subscription traps. As reported by Datum Intelligence, existing regulatory interventions have so far had limited success in curbing these deceptive digital practices that continue to impact millions of consumers. Beyond direct losses, these practices are also triggering major behavioural shifts among consumers, putting more than ₹55,000 crore in gross merchandise value (GMV) at risk as users reduce spending, compare more aggressively or switch platforms altogether. The combined impact of direct financial loss and changing consumer behavior shows that dark patterns are no longer just a consumer protection concern, but a broader macroeconomic challenge affecting the long-term sustainability of India's digital commerce ecosystem.
Among e-commerce platforms, Amazon emerged as the most trusted, with 50 per cent of users naming it their preferred choice and recording the lowest B-Index score at 6.7 according to Datum Intelligence. In contrast, Flipkart was the only platform where distrust (41 per cent) exceeded trust (37 per cent), a gap the report attributed to higher per-encounter 'financial extraction'. In the online travel sector, MakeMyTrip was perceived as the safest, while Cleartrip ranked among the most harmful platforms. In the quick commerce segment, BigBasket recorded one of the highest severity scores, with the report finding a 92-point gap between the best- and worst-performing platforms. Nykaa emerged as the worst-performing platform overall with a score of 99.0, while Blinkit emerged as the cleanest operator in quick commerce. The findings suggest that existing regulatory interventions have had limited success in curbing deceptive digital practices that continue to affect millions of consumers across e-commerce, banking, travel, ride-hailing, insurance, online payments and digital lending platforms.
The study highlighted an 'awareness paradox' among Indian shoppers, where 81 per cent of respondents said they were aware of dark patterns, yet 85 per cent still reported being misled by them. However, 74 per cent of online shoppers indicated a willingness to pay more for platforms that commit to fair and transparent design practices. This suggests that while consumers understand the deceptive nature of dark patterns, they may still fall victim to them due to convenience or lack of alternatives. The report also points to a growing 'trust economy', with users planning to cut spending on online platforms, most sharply in online travel where spending could decline by up to 15 per cent. The benefits of intensified competition may extend beyond major players, with Amazon and other players targeting Tier-II and Tier-III markets, expanding infrastructure and delivery networks to bring faster delivery, wider product ranges and strong promotions outside metros. When well-funded, aggressive companies compete for the same customer base, consumers typically emerge as the biggest winners through improved service quality and enhanced value propositions.
