Blinkit, India’s largest quick commerce platform, is facing warehouse disruptions in key cities — Delhi, Haryana, Mumbai, and Bengaluru. These issues, as ET reported on October 11, stem from two main factors — a surge in festive demand and its shift to an inventory-led model.
This highlights the operational pains being felt by online commerce companies during India’s busiest shopping season, and shows how even dominant players can experience friction as festive demand peaks.
The company, owned by Zomato parent Eternal, holds over 50% of India’s quick commerce market, ahead of Zepto and Swiggy Instamart. Blinkit has been aggressively expanding its dark store network and now operates around 1,700-1,800 micro-warehouses, even as rivals slowed expansion in the run-up to Diwali.
What’s happening?
Since September 1, Blinkit has started buying goods from brands instead of just listing them. While this allows for better control over pricing and delivery speed, it also means Blinkit bears the full logistical and inventory management load.
Brand executives and founders have said that the rollout has been eventful, particularly with demand surging during the festive season.
Nihaal Mariwala of nutrition supplements brand Setu said getting warehouse appointments for new SKUs has been difficult, while Prabhav Mohta of wearables maker GoBoult noted that inventory slots filled up early during Dussehra, and the company has been able to send only about 70% of the planned stock for Diwali sales — and hopes to send the remaining inventory soon.
What’s Blinkit’s immediate response?
To manage space at its warehouses, Blinkit has paused the intake of new and pre-launch products until October 31, per an internal email reviewed by ET.
The company told sellers its warehouses are choc-a-block — meaning new vendors can’t list or send in high-demand Diwali goods like sweets, diyas, and decorative lights, if they aren’t already listed on the quick commerce app.
How have sellers reacted?
Sellers said that they’re missing out on Diwali sales because of delays in sending stock or getting new products approved. "This is affecting our ability to sell seasonal items, especially for Diwali, which is a high-demand season," one of the sellers said.
Is there a wider supply chain crunch?
ET had earlier reported that India’s online retailers are grappling with logistics bottlenecks this festive season as order volumes hit new records. Delivery slots at ecommerce warehouses for September sale events had also started becoming unavailable by June or July — in what was an unusually early saturation, which signalled potential bottlenecks in the run-up to Diwali
Blinkit’s warehouse overload is a reflection of that larger supply chain stress, compounded by its operational shift.
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This highlights the operational pains being felt by online commerce companies during India’s busiest shopping season, and shows how even dominant players can experience friction as festive demand peaks.
The company, owned by Zomato parent Eternal, holds over 50% of India’s quick commerce market, ahead of Zepto and Swiggy Instamart. Blinkit has been aggressively expanding its dark store network and now operates around 1,700-1,800 micro-warehouses, even as rivals slowed expansion in the run-up to Diwali.
What’s happening?
Since September 1, Blinkit has started buying goods from brands instead of just listing them. While this allows for better control over pricing and delivery speed, it also means Blinkit bears the full logistical and inventory management load.
Brand executives and founders have said that the rollout has been eventful, particularly with demand surging during the festive season.
Nihaal Mariwala of nutrition supplements brand Setu said getting warehouse appointments for new SKUs has been difficult, while Prabhav Mohta of wearables maker GoBoult noted that inventory slots filled up early during Dussehra, and the company has been able to send only about 70% of the planned stock for Diwali sales — and hopes to send the remaining inventory soon.
What’s Blinkit’s immediate response?
To manage space at its warehouses, Blinkit has paused the intake of new and pre-launch products until October 31, per an internal email reviewed by ET.
The company told sellers its warehouses are choc-a-block — meaning new vendors can’t list or send in high-demand Diwali goods like sweets, diyas, and decorative lights, if they aren’t already listed on the quick commerce app.
How have sellers reacted?
Sellers said that they’re missing out on Diwali sales because of delays in sending stock or getting new products approved. "This is affecting our ability to sell seasonal items, especially for Diwali, which is a high-demand season," one of the sellers said.
Is there a wider supply chain crunch?
ET had earlier reported that India’s online retailers are grappling with logistics bottlenecks this festive season as order volumes hit new records. Delivery slots at ecommerce warehouses for September sale events had also started becoming unavailable by June or July — in what was an unusually early saturation, which signalled potential bottlenecks in the run-up to Diwali
Blinkit’s warehouse overload is a reflection of that larger supply chain stress, compounded by its operational shift.
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