Zepto’s ‘Super Saver’ Takes On Modern Trade, Challenging It’s Hold On Value Retail

Modern trade has long been the preferred choice for bulk buying and routine monthly shopping, even with the rise of quick commerce, due to its competitive pricing and discounts. Meanwhile, platforms such as Zepto, Zomato’s Blinkit, and Swiggy’s Instamart have largely catered to consumers’ weekly top-ups or unplanned daily needs.

However, HSBC noted that Zepto’s new “Super Saver” option could be reshaping the quick commerce landscape by breaking into a third vector of retail—value retail, which has traditionally been dominated by modern trade and mom-and-pop stores.

Zepto’s Super Saver program, which offers high discounts but requires a minimum order value of Rs 999, is aimed at capturing planned grocery purchases. While this leads to lower profit margins in percentage terms, absolute earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation remain healthy due to a significantly higher average order value, as HSBC noted.

By comparison, Blinkit’s average AOV is around Rs 670. HSBC estimates that if Blinkit were to introduce a similar model, its Ebitda margins would drop to around 3.5% from 6%, with a potential decline in absolute Ebitda as well. Given this, HSBC believes it may not make strategic sense for Blinkit to replicate Zepto’s move.

Unlike Zepto, Blinkit has positioned itself as a convenience-driven platform rather than a value-driven one. HSBC pointed out that Blinkit has consistently been the most expensive among quick commerce players and does not offer loyalty programmes like Zepto Pass or Swiggy One.

Instead, its strategy revolves around expanding categories, use cases, and geographical reach, which helped it sustain approximately 20% quarter-on-quarter user and order growth in the third quarter of fiscal 2025, despite increasing competition.

The launch of Zepto’s Super Saver program also coincided with an online exchange between Zepto co-founder Aadit Palicha and Zomato Ltd. Chief Executive Officer Deepinder Goyal.

Goyal, in an interview with The Economic Times, claimed that Zepto accounted for more than half of the Rs 5,000 crore quarterly cash burn in the quick commerce sector.

“We don’t engage in deep discounting, and our execution has been good… and we have to make sure our growth rate stays intact. The discipline with which we invest our cash should also stay intact. That's the focus,” Goyal said in the interview.

Palicha dismissed the claim on LinkedIn, calling it “verifiably untrue” and saying it may have been an “honest mistake.”

A separate note by UBS highlighted monetisation trends in the quick commerce sector. Swiggy’s discounting remained stable at 21.4% in February 2025, with delivery fees increasing slightly month-on-month but remaining lower than in prior years.

The rise in platform fees has helped offset the decline in delivery charges, with more customers opting for subscription plans to waive delivery fees.

A Citi Research report from Feb. 10 estimated Blinkit's market share at 41%, followed by Swiggy Instamart at 23%, with Zepto likely at par or higher than Instamart.