Blinkit, the quick commerce platform known for delivering groceries and essentials within minutes, is now venturing into emergency services. The company has launched a 10-minute ambulance service in Gurugram, marking a significant expansion beyond its core offerings. As quick commerce platforms race to diversify their portfolios, Blinkit’s move signals a shift towards high-value, time-sensitive services.

“As we expand the service to more areas, you will start seeing an option to book a basic life support (BLS) ambulance through the Blinkit app. We are carefully scaling this service up, as it is both important and new to us. Our aim is to expand to all major cities over the next two years,” founder Albinder Dhindsa wrote in a LinkedIn post. In another post, Dhindsa mentioned that consumers could even get laptops and printers delivered within 10 minutes.

Competitor Zepto, on the other hand, has partnered with ethnic wear brand Manyavar and several others. So, if you have a last-minute wedding invitation and need a traditional kurta-pyjama, Zepto promises to deliver it in just 10 minutes.

Quick commerce companies continue to surprise consumers with the sheer variety of products and services they can deliver in 10 or even 30 minutes. Even fashion marketplaces like Myntra have joined the quick-delivery trend. Every working woman depends on her domestic help, and when they don’t show up, it can be a real crisis. Legal professional Sushmita Mishra, for instance, ordered a vacuum cleaner from Blinkit when her domestic help informed her she would be unavailable for a week. A brand-new Philips vacuum cleaner arrived at her doorstep within 20 minutes. “I didn’t get the option to choose a brand, as Philips was the only one listed on the app. But I was desperate, and I knew Philips is a trusted brand,” she explained about her impulse purchase.

Quick commerce, initially designed for impulse purchases like a late-night chocolate bar or a can of Coke, has expanded far beyond grocery deliveries, now fulfilling orders within 10–20 minutes. But does a 10-minute delivery promise for a laptop or a kurta-pyjama make long-term sense? Quick commerce platforms need an average order value of ₹500–₹600 to turn profitable—something most have achieved—so do they really need to expand beyond groceries? High-margin products like printers, laptops, or vacuum cleaners could improve profitability.

“Value-added services like printing, ambulance services, and pet care are primarily aimed at enhancing customer experience. However, product delivery will remain the core business for the next few years,” says Rishav Jain, MD at Alvarez & Marsal. “Quick commerce companies are experimenting with new ways to expand their product range and customer base. This experimentation will continue, but not all initiatives will succeed,” adds Karan Taurani, Senior Vice-President at Elara Capital.

Changing Consumer Behaviour

The growing expectation for faster deliveries across categories has pushed platforms to explore new opportunities. “There is a flattening out or normalisation of propositions within marketplaces, making delivery speed a key differentiator. For instance, if you’re buying an apparel brand on Myntra, you can find the same brand on Ajio. So, both brands and platforms are jumping on the quick commerce bandwagon to create more excitement and capture market share,” explains Angshuman Bhattacharya, National Leader (Consumer Products & Retail) at EY.

Inventory Matters

If a close friend or family member’s wedding is a few months away, you’re unlikely to buy a Manyavar outfit from Zepto. Instead, you’d visit a store, try on multiple outfits, and make a choice. The same logic applies to laptops or vacuum cleaners. Thus, quick commerce will always focus on selling select fast-moving SKUs (stock-keeping units) rather than an entire brand’s inventory.

Taurani of Elara Capital believes that for a platform like Myntra, only accessories, basic t-shirts, shirts, and skirts might sell well on quick commerce. “Apparel as a category won’t work because it’s not an impulse purchase. It has higher average order values, higher return rates, and challenging economics,” he explains.

“For apparel brands, quick commerce is a critical organised channel, but only for a limited selection of high-velocity SKUs. Inventory management for these SKUs is crucial,” says Jain of Alvarez & Marsal. Listing an entire inventory on quick commerce could lead to significant unsold stock, making it unviable in the long run.

In fashion retail, Bhattacharya of EY believes that only brands with an extensive network of physical stores can effectively leverage quick commerce. Manyavar, for example, has around 1,000 stores. “A brand with just 50–60 stores will struggle with a quick commerce strategy,” he says.

In most cases, deliveries happen from a brand’s existing stores. “If you have the stores, you have the stock; and if you have the stock, you can commit to quick deliveries. Otherwise, catering exclusively to quick commerce and maintaining separate inventory isn’t viable—especially in fashion, where unsold stock is a risk. Platforms will focus on a limited portfolio of 5–7 sure-shot fast-moving SKUs, backed by physical infrastructure to support the promise,” Bhattacharya adds.

The same principle applies to consumer appliances. Brands will only sell fast-moving SKUs and allocate stock accordingly. Consumers may not be brand-conscious when buying a basic t-shirt, but they won’t risk purchasing an unbranded appliance. “Only the top one or two brands in each category will survive on quick commerce. The rest will face listing or availability challenges, or end up with excess inventory,” says Bhattacharya.

Zepto’s Chief Business Officer, Devendra Meel, highlights their proprietary tool, Thor, which manages inventory complexities. “Handling a wide range of products requires a sophisticated approach to inventory and supply chain management. Each category has unique requirements—electronics need secure handling, gym wear requires different storage conditions, and perishables like bread must be packed last to prevent damage. Thor ensures efficient inventory management,” he explains.

Selling Services

Recent reports about Blinkit’s entry into emergency services suggest another quick commerce experiment. However, there is a real need for high-quality emergency services like ambulances. Currently, ambulance services are largely hospital-run and often slow. “If platforms like Urban Company can offer plumbers and electricians, why not ambulances? The question is: how reliably can they fulfill this promise? There is definitely a need. Right now, what level of certainty do we have that an ambulance will arrive within 10 minutes?” asks Bhattacharya of EY.

Quick commerce platforms have an opportunity to build shared infrastructure that efficiently connects consumers with service providers. For instance, setting up service centres across a city is expensive for individual consumer durable brands, leading to underutilisation of resources. However, if platforms like Zepto or Blinkit create such networks, they can attract investment from multiple brands, enabling a robust after-sales service ecosystem.

Bhattacharya also sees potential for frozen foods in quick commerce. “Frozen food hasn’t taken off in India because no single company can justify the cost of a frozen distribution network. But if quick commerce platforms build it for 20 brands, they can make it viable. This is essentially a horizontalisation of infrastructure,” he explains. The distribution network is shifting towards a third-party model, where multiple brands collaborate to develop infrastructure that individual companies couldn’t build on their own. “This could be a solution to India’s inefficient retail infrastructure,” he adds.

The opportunities for quick commerce are vast, but the industry is still finding its footing. For now, grocery deliveries and 10–15-minute fulfilment of essentials like laptop chargers will drive growth. But with the pace of innovation, who knows? The next big announcement from Blinkit or Zepto could be the sale of insurance services!