According to reports, Walmart-owned Flipkart has entered the quick-commerce race with a service called Minutes.

The e-commerce company has launched a fast delivery service to users in some areas of Bengaluru, beyond its headquarters employees, which had previously been offered on a trial basis.

As per reports, the service has gone live on the Flipkart app. Over the next few weeks, it will be expanded to more areas in Bengaluru.

In regions like Belandur and HSR, Flipkart Minutes offers groceries, electronics, smartphones, and other products within 8-16 minutes.

This marks Flipkart's formal entry into quick commerce, taking over Swiggy's Instamart, Zomato's Blinkit, Zepto and BigBasket's BB Now.

Flipkart plans to operate around 100 dark stores to charge up its quick-commerce offerings during the festive season this year. Dark stores are mini warehouses from where deliveries are made, as per reports.

Given how the market and consumer preferences have evolved, the service will first stabilize in a particular pocket and then scale.

Last week, Blinkit announced plans to expand the number of dark stores by 2026 to 2,000 and double its previously announced plans to have 3 dark stores by 2025 with 1,000. Zepto also plans to double its network by 2025-3 to 700 dark stores. Swiggy Instamart had more than 500 warehouses, and Blinkit had 6 dark stores by the end of 2024 with 639.

Industry executives expect high-octane action from the ultra-fast delivery segment during this year's festive season, which is usually known for selling big tickets from Amazon India and Flipkart.