How Blinkit revolutionized q-commerce with its dark, dense, and direct approach to reach its customers

Blinkit’s 10-minute delivery promise hinges on its network of neighbourhood warehouses, allowing its IT systems and drivers to reach you effortlessly. For scores of harried professionals who literally live to work, quick commerce has emerged as a godsend, saving them time and efforts that would’ve been lost to errands. As one of the biggest players in the quick commerce market, Blinkit has emerged as one of the most popular platforms for the quick delivery of daily essentials- food staples, toiletries, home improvement goods and so on.

After its takeover by Zomato in 2022, Blinkit’s Gross Order Value (GOV) has surged to Rs.11,821 crore, even surpassing Zomato.

What it got right?

Dark store network

Over the years, Blinkit has mastered the infrastructure needed to offer quick deliveries. By the end of 2025, Blinkit now has a network of 1,800 dark stores spread across 100+ cities in India, most of them in the neighbourhoods it aims to work in. Without them, and its army of delivery boys across the country, Blinkit can now deliver whatever you need within 10 minutes.

AI-driven inventory management

Blinkit wouldn’t be able to pull this off without its technologically advanced AI-enhanced inventory management tool. Blinkit uses this across its dark store network to track stock levels and predict demand and supply trends based on the orders received. This feature remains crucial for perishable products, especially those that have to be sourced locally and sold within a specific timeframe.

Smart routing for efficiency

Given the large volume of orders and with many orders being placed in the vicinity of each other, Blinkit’s software uses smart algorithms to assign orders to the nearest resource that can get the work done on time. This could mean assigning multiple orders to a single delivery agent or transferring the order to another dark store if one store has run out of a particular product.

Live tracking of inventory, drivers

Blinkit’s platform deals with millions of drivers and products daily- the system has to keep track of everything- the driver’s location, the details of each order and the inventory at the dark store. All of this isn’t possible without Blinkit’s proprietary live tracking system, which tracks everything it needs, every day.

Moving beyond groceries

Blinkit’s quick commerce has now innovated its services to include everything from electronic accessories, stationery, toys, beauty hampers, festival hampers and even forex delivery through partners like Thomas Cook. Though it continues to remain known for its groceries, higher margin, non-grocery categories help it boost its margins. In many cities, the platform localises its operations by offering local produce and essentials, expanding its user base.

The current status of affairs

Given the highly competitive nature of quick commerce, Blinkit is in a race to expand its operations to almost 2,000-3,000 stores in the following years, in order to expand its base to the outskirts of most neighbourhoods as well as underpenetrated Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities.

The company is further trying to arrest losses with its expansion plans, moving from a marketplace model to an inventory model from September 2025. This will help it reduce losses and expand margins on products simultaneously, as the company uses its dark stores to ensure a sufficient supply of non-perishables to take on its competitors in quick commerce, as well as others in the market.

Recent market research shows that the Indian quick commerce market is expected to reach up to $57 billion by 2030, with Blinkit now working to expand its market share from the 46% it holds currently. Though all of this wouldn’t have been possible without innovation, the company led by Albinder Dhindsa now has to face the fresh challenge of arresting losses while expanding its market share.

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