India, April 2 -- Are dark stores getting darker for quick commerce?

As Indian quick commerce platforms tried to gather speed - from fast to ultra-fast delivery - the topline for the Q-Com Big Three became loftier, soaring past $1 Bn in FY24, but the bottomline for Blinkit, Zepto, and Swiggy Instamart slumped with cracks showing up in their business models. Costs are scorching their coffers and deliveries turning slower as they promise to outpace reality.

Blinkit's adjusted EBITDA loss widened 15.7% in the third quarter of FY25 from INR 89 Cr a year back, battering down parent Zomato's net profit 57.2% to INR 59 Cr. Swiggy, on its books, saw consolidated net loss deepen 39.1% to INR 799 Cr with INR 527.68 Cr attributed to its quick comm...