Blinkit, the quick commerce arm of Eternal, is rapidly evolving from a convenience-focused service into a formidable retail infrastructure player, directly challenging established e-commerce giants like Amazon and Flipkart in India. This strategic shift, highlighted in Eternal's Q1 FY27 shareholders' letter, marks a significant investment in physical assets and inventory ownership, redefining the competitive landscape.
A Strategic Pivot Towards Owned Inventory
Once primarily a commission-based quick grocery delivery service, Blinkit has fundamentally altered its operational model. In July 2025, only about 3% of its net order value involved owned inventory; today, that figure stands at approximately 90%. This pivot means Blinkit now directly procures and manages a vast array of products, expanding its assortment from groceries to include beauty, electronics, and home goods.
This change has necessitated substantial investment in infrastructure. The cost of building a Blinkit store, including its share of warehousing, has more than doubled to Rs 2.5 crore in a year. Eternal has invested roughly Rs 3,000 crore over four years, establishing 19 million square feet of stores and warehousing across over 300 cities. The number of dark stores surged from 1,544 in June 2025 to 2,443 in June 2026, with expected daily sales per store rising from Rs 7 lakh to Rs 11 lakh.
Dominating Eternal's Portfolio and Financial Growth
Blinkit has become Eternal’s largest consumer business, accounting for 76% of the consolidated adjusted revenue in the June quarter. Its adjusted revenue hit Rs 15,664 crore, a staggering 552% year-on-year increase. Even when comparing net order value (which normalizes for inventory ownership), Blinkit reported Rs 17,132 crore, an 86% year-on-year growth, significantly outpacing Eternal's food delivery business.
Despite this rapid expansion, the average order value for Blinkit remains consistent at around Rs 518, indicating that growth is primarily driven by more customers ordering more frequently. While the business recorded an adjusted EBITDA of Rs 102 crore in the June quarter, representing a 0.6% margin, Eternal projects this to reach 6% at a steady state, underscoreing the long-term potential of its asset-heavy strategy.
Intensifying Competition in the E-commerce Arena
This aggressive expansion has reshaped the competitive environment. Blinkit's growth is increasingly coming at the expense of other players, as the market struggles to absorb numerous standalone quick commerce services. Swiggy Instamart has slowed its store expansion, focusing on increasing utilization from its existing 1,143 stores. Zepto, while attempting to match Blinkit’s pace, reported a net loss of Rs 5,905 crore in FY26 due to aggressive investments.
The most significant shift, however, is Blinkit’s direct confrontation with Amazon and Flipkart. Amazon has expanded its Amazon Now service across metros and introduced over 100 Urban Fulfilment Centres, offering a wider selection including apparel and electronics. Flipkart’s Minutes service, launched in August 2024, has rapidly grown to over 1,000 micro-fulfilment centres, targeting 1,500 by year-end, particularly in tier-2 and tier-3 cities.
“The Indian e-commerce space can't be imagined without Blinkit in it, standalone or as a strategic piece in a larger empire,” notes Ankur Bisen, senior partner at The Knowledge Company. “The dark store-led growth is almost over,” adds Satish Meena, founder of Datum Intelligence, emphasizing the focus on larger stores, premiumization, and category expansion.
Experts believe the convergence of quick commerce and traditional e-commerce is inevitable. Blinkit, by investing in inventory held close to consumers, is mirroring Amazon's long-term strategy but from the opposite direction. While Blinkit's current run rate of $7.5-8 billion is still significantly smaller than Amazon's $25-26 billion and Flipkart's $30 billion, its infrastructure-first approach positions it as a critical player in India's evolving digital retail ecosystem.