Quick commerce no longer a mad dash as firms use algos to group orders and cut costs

Analysts said batching represents more than a mere cost tweak, and marks an inflection point for quick commerce. “Over time, these algorithms will start prioritizing customers," said Madhur Singhal, managing partner, consumer and internet, at Praxis Global Alliance. “This will allow platforms to enable premiumization and potentially launch premium subscriptions to reward loyal customers," he added.

For now, though, batching mostly helps quick-commerce players trim losses without disappointing customers.

BigBasket, one of the earliest online grocers that used to run on scheduled deliveries, has come full circle after pivoting to quick deliveries through BBNow in 2022, and is now fine-tuning its batching engine. BBNow has been completely folded into BigBasket as its core quick-commerce arm.

“The routing engine considers each customer’s promised ETA (estimated time of arrival) as the primary constraint," said Aashutosh Taparia, national head for last-mile delivery at BigBasket. “Orders are batched only when they can be delivered within the committed window."

Taparia added that the company plans to launch an improved version of its batching engine by December, and that it has no plans to return to scheduled deliveries. “For now we are not evaluating any options of pushing our scheduled service," he said.

Flipkart Minutes, the Walmart-owned e-commerce giant’s quick-commerce arm, began batching earlier this year, about a year after its launch, a Flipkart spokesperson said. “When a micro-fulfilment store sees a surge in demand, the system automatically batches nearby orders to ease the load. Wishmasters [the company’s term for its delivery workers] earn a flat incentive for each additional delivery, with minimal additional travel," the spokesperson added.

For Zepto, batching has been built into its delivery model from day one. “By grouping nearby orders, we reduce return trips and optimise routes, helping minimise delays even during peak hours," said Vikas Sharma, chief operating officer at Zepto, adding that delivery workers earn additional incentives on batched trips.

Swiggy’s Instamart began batching orders in June 2024. Queries emailed to Swiggy and Eternal’s Blinkit did not elicit a response.

Borrowed from food delivery

Batching isn’t new for India’s food-delivery giants Swiggy and Zomato, which have quietly run similar models for years often under “Eco Saver" or even by allowing users to schedule their orders. These models let users have slower, cheaper delivery tiers to bundle nearby orders, often priced ₹5-10 lower than regular deliveries.

This model is now being extended to quick commerce, where “algorithms are used to prioritise one customer over another", said Abhivardhan, president, Indian Society of Artificial Intelligence and Law, an industry forum.

Restaurants with higher ratings, faster preparation times, and larger order sizes already receive algorithmic boosts, he noted, and it’s logical to extend this prioritisation to customers.

In food delivery, such systems can even span multiple restaurants. In quick commerce, however, batching is typically limited to orders within the same pod or within a 500-metre to 1-kilometre radius, so fulfillment tends to happen from a single dark store, industry executives told Mint.

Interestingly, this marks a turnaround for Blinkit, which shut operations in 2021 in areas where it couldn’t keep its 10-minute delivery promise. That was before Zomato Ltd (now Eternal) acquired it for $568 million in an all-stock deal in 2022. This year, Blinkit pivoted to an inventory-led model—in which dark stores hold stock directly—and expanded aggressively, targeting 3,000 dark stores by the end of the year.

Swiggy has followed Blinkit on one front but stepped back on another. It, too, has pivoted to an inventory-led model, but has taken a step back on dark-store expansion.

No let-up in competition

The move to optimise quick deliveries comes as competition in the space shows no sign of easing. Reliance-owned JioMart has muscled in, adding 600 dark stores over the past two quarters as part of its quick-commerce pivot. It’s gunning for market share from incumbents such as Blinkit, Swiggy and Zepto in the metros, and now offers deliveries in 1,000 cities compared to Blinkit’s 152 as of October.

“The competition will take many years to reach [places where] we already have a head start. What we have to do is take share away from competitors in the bigger cities," Dinesh Taluja, chief financial officer at Reliance Retail, said during the company’s Q2FY26 earnings call.

Meanwhile, companies are simultaneously ramping up efforts to woo new customers and retain existing ones by offering large discounts. Swiggy, fresh off a ₹10,000-crore qualified institutional placement (QIP) launched its ‘Mega Savings Festival’ from 3 October to 7 November, offering zero delivery, handling and surge fees. Zepto’s recent $450-million fundraise has fuelled similar discounts, such as zero fees on orders above ₹99.

What this means for workers and customers

For delivery workers, batching can feel like a Faustian bargain. Workers Mint spoke to across platforms said standard deliveries pay ₹26-30 per order, while a batched run pays around ₹45-50. Two single orders, though, would pay roughly ₹60. So while the payout is lower with batched deliveries, the time saved can help offset this.

“Standard [single] delivery is generally ₹26 to ₹32 per order, while batching is ₹45 for two drops," said Ravi, a 28-year-old delivery worker in Delhi’s Govindpuri. “It sounds better, but the second order usually spills over by 5-10 minutes, and you end up waiting longer at the store. It only balances out if the orders are close and steady."

“If batching becomes the norm and riders can do more clustered runs in a shift, it may even out overall, but only if there’s a steady stream of batchable orders and few single deliveries in between," said Farheen, an analyst at the centre for critical and emerging technologies at the Advanced Study Institute of Asia. The smaller distance between drops can also trim fuel costs, which delivery workers said makes batched orders slightly more viable during long shifts.

Customers, meanwhile, are noticing the lag. Several quick-commerce users Mint spoke to across Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru reported that delivery times have increased from 10-12 minutes to around 20–25 minutes, even though the apps still show similar ETAs. Platforms seldom disclose when orders are batched. BigBasket, for instance, shows route details to riders but not to customers.

“Deliveries used to take 10-12 minutes; now they often show up in 20-25," said Neha, a 24-year-old marketing professional in Bengaluru. “The app doesn’t mention that orders are clubbed—you only realise when the rider says they have another stop first."

But analysts said this 5-10-minute slippage isn’t a deal-breaker—at least not yet. “Quick commerce players have realised that customers have adopted the channel and are not fussed about a few minutes of delay if the order size is small," said Singhal.