Flipkart Expands 10-Minute Delivery Service to Medicines, Joins Quick Commerce Race
India’s 10-minute delivery race, which initially focused on groceries and essentials, is now expanding into the food and medicine sectors. One of the major e-commerce players, Flipkart, is reportedly planning to introduce 10-minute delivery for medicines.
According to a report by ET, citing a senior industry executive, Flipkart’s quick delivery service, ‘Flipkart Minutes’, has begun enlisting local chemists in metro cities to sell products via the platform’s last-mile delivery partners.
“Flipkart wants to develop Flipkart Minutes into a full-fledged quick commerce platform. Medicines is a hitherto untapped opportunity since existing platforms deliver products in an hour to even 3-5 days,” the executive said.
Inc42 reached out to Flipkart for comments on this development, and the story will be updated upon receiving a response.
The report further mentioned that Flipkart is accelerating its drug delivery experiment by partnering with local pharmacists, in compliance with India’s drug regulations for foreign-backed e-commerce operators, which prohibit them from owning inventory. Flipkart is also looking to collaborate with registered chemists for this initiative.
This move comes as quick commerce services gain popularity in India, with major players like Zomato-owned Blinkit, Swiggy Instamart, Zepto, and Tata-owned BigBasket making significant strides in the space.
Quick commerce services have begun offering products with a much shorter wait period, aiming to retain consumer interest while expanding their product offerings. For example, in July, Swiggy, BigBasket, Zomato, and Blinkit began piloting home delivery of low-alcohol beverages like beer, wine, and liquors in states including New Delhi, Karnataka, Haryana, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Goa, and Kerala.
In addition to the established players, more than 10 new quick commerce brands are emerging in the market, each with competitive ideas to capture a share of the growing sector.
Meanwhile, e-commerce giant Amazon’s Indian arm is preparing to launch its own quick commerce delivery service, code-named Tez, by late December or early next year. The service will initially focus on delivering groceries and daily essentials.
