Non-grocery sections emerging as big business in quick commerce: Flipkart exec

Kolkata: Quick commerce is moving beyond its grocery-and-daily-essentials roots, increasingly eating into online spending on smartphones, electronics, beauty products, watches and home decor, as consumers shift more discretionary purchases to instant delivery platforms, said a senior Flipkart executive.

The shift is prompting the Walmart-backed e-tailer to make non-grocery categories a key focus of its quick-commerce business, Flipkart Minutes, during the upcoming festive season. This is the first time the group's quick-commerce platform is mounting a festive push beyond groceries and daily essentials.

"Consumer transactions beyond grocery and FMCG (fast-moving consumer goods) are growing fast in quick commerce, and some of these categories may become sizeable," Flipkart Minutes business head Kunal Gupta told ET.


Industry estimates suggest non-grocery categories now account for about a fourth of the business of some large quick-commerce operators, a sharp increase from 6-8% a year ago. Smartphones, electronics, apparel and home decor are also among the largest online categories during the festive season, making them a key battleground for quick-commerce players.

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Gupta declined to disclose the revenue mix between grocery and non-grocery on Flipkart Minutes but said the platform has big plans for mobile phones, electronics, apparel and small appliances. Beauty products and pet food have already become sizeable categories, he said.

"Fashion essentials, such as watches and innerwear, are doing well in quick commerce, but it will be a time-taking journey for design-led apparel. Small appliances are also a strong part of our planning, while it will take time to build categories like large appliances," Gupta said.

Flipkart Minutes, which completed two years of operations, is now present in more than 150 cities. It will have more than 1,200 micro-fulfilment centres by the end of this month, up from around 1,000 currently, and plans to expand the network to 1,500 by December.

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Flipkart plans to add around 100 fulfilment centres a month, although profitability will remain a key consideration as the network expands. Flipkart Minutes is improving its net profit and gross margins month-on-month, Gupta said, adding that economies of scale are expected to increasingly support its path to profitability

"Profit is a function of scale. We have grown four times in the last one year. We want a healthy progressive journey. There is a clear line of sight of profit, otherwise we would not have opened so many stores," Gupta said, without disclosing further details.