Blinkit Wins On Range, Instamart Leads Discount Race In Quick Commerce Battle

India’s quick commerce players are holding steady on discounts but ramping up platform fees, according to a new update from Axis Capital. Despite an intense fight for consumer wallets, item-level discounts have largely remained in the 29–35% range across platforms in recent months.

Instamart is currently offering the steepest price cuts at around 35%, thanks to its Maxxsaver deals. Blinkit, on the other hand, is pricing more conservatively but with the widest product assortment, it’s emerging as the top player on variety.

“Blinkit’s scale and assortment leadership, even without a loyalty program, reflect strong user stickiness and high bargaining power,” analysts Gaurav Malhotra and Della Desai noted in the report.

While Blinkit leads on variety, Instamart and Amazon Now remain competitive. Flipkart Minutes, which has struggled with availability in the past, is showing some improvement in stock levels.

Meanwhile, platform or handling fees are quietly climbing. Axis Capital noted that most players are now charging Rs 9–15 per order which is equivalent to 1–3% of the average order value, with BigBasket and Instamart at the higher end in cities like Mumbai and Bengaluru. These charges, which vary by user and location, have shown a steady upward trend since late 2024.

“We see room for further increases in platform fees, which could pose an upside risk to our estimates,” Axis Capital said.

Despite the fierce competition, Axis sees some signs of softening at the margins. The brokerage prefers Zomato over Swiggy in the broader consumer services space, flagging the moves of horizontal e-commerce giants as a key factor to watch.