Why Instamart is testing offline retail amid the quick commerce war

Swiggy’s Instamart has taken a small but notable step beyond its app-first playbook by opening its first offline experiential store in Gurugram, close to large residential societies. While quick commerce players have largely built their businesses around dark stores and hyperlocal delivery, Instamart’s foray into physical retail is being viewed by industry watchers primarily as a branding and marketing exercise — one that reflects how intense the battle for consumer mindshare has become.

According to people aware of the development, the Gurugram outlet is not intended to function like a conventional supermarket or a full-fledged dark store. Instead, it is designed as a compact experiential space, carrying a few hundred stock-keeping units (SKUs), largely focused on fresh produce and daily-consumption items. In contrast, a typical dark store spans nearly 40,000 square feet and is optimised purely for fulfilment rather than walk-in customers.

“This is a fabulous marketing move at a time when the quick commerce race is heating up,” says an ecosystem stakeholder, adding that the physical presence helps Instamart strengthen brand recall and customer trust.

The move also mirrors BigBasket’s earlier brand-led initiatives, such as placing digitised refrigerators in residential societies for visibility and recall, though Instamart’s offline store involves significantly higher capex, which is said to be borne by the seller itself.

The store will be owned and operated by sellers — like dark stores — but will carry Instamart branding, reinforcing the platform’s identity in high-density neighbourhoods, according to people aware of the matter.

The experiment sets Instamart apart from rivals such as Blinkit and Zepto, which have so far stayed firmly focused on app-led delivery infrastructure. The move also comes shortly after Swiggy raised Rs 10,000 crore through a qualified institutional placement (QIP), giving it the financial flexibility to test new formats and customer engagement strategies.

The timing is significant. India’s quick commerce sector is witnessing heightened competition, with players aggressively fighting for market share through pricing tweaks, faster delivery promises and the elimination of handling or delivery charges. Zepto, which is widely expected to go public by early 2026, and Instamart are both doubling down on customer acquisition and retention as profitability timelines come under sharper scrutiny.

While it remains unclear whether Instamart will scale this offline format, experts believe such omnichannel experiments could complement the core quick commerce model rather than replace it. For now, the Gurugram store appears less about revenue generation and more about visibility, an attempt to anchor a digital-first brand in the physical world as competition in quick commerce intensifies.