As Quick Commerce Race Intensifies, Zepto Pushes For AOV Boost With New Service On Bulk Orders

Amid a raging battle of supremacy in the quick commerce space, Zepto is further navigating to expand beyond its 10-minute delivery business with the roll out of ‘SuperSaver’ to fuel its average order value (AOV).

As per The Arc’s report, the service which currently operates in Bengaluru, offers competitive prices for bulk buyers and budget-conscious shoppers by exempting delivery charges on orders over INR 1000.

This move aims to help Zepto catch up with Blinkit, which leads the quick commerce segment with an AOV of INR 625 for the quarter ending June. 

However, the delivery time for SuperSaver is slightly longer than Zepto’s standard 10-15 minutes, extending to 20-30 minutes. Customers can also use this service for their monthly grocery top ups.

“Unlike Blinkit, which clearly targets the premium assortment category, Zepto’s strategy focuses on affordable pricing, believing it to be a larger market,” the report said.

SuperSaver also coincides with Zepto’s membership pass, which eliminates delivery charges on orders over INR 100.

For the uninitiated, Zepto’s membership pass, normally priced at INR 299, is now available for a discounted rate of INR 1.

This launch is part of a broader trend, as several quick commerce companies experiment with new offerings ahead of the festive season.

Besides Zepto, all the major players like Blinkit, and Swiggy Instamart are committed to expanding their dark store footprints while also including bigger ticket items like electronics, and fashion, among others for expanding their product portfolio.

Meanwhile, a majority of ecommerce players are either looking to or have already made their foray into the quick commerce segment to ride on the latter’s market potential.

While Flipkart rolled out its line called Minutes last month, Tata-owned BigBasket has moved from being an online grocery delivery platform to a full-scale quick commerce platform. 

Reliance Industries’s digital arm JioMart also rolled out a pilot for instant delivery of groceries and fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) products in some parts of Mumbai and Navi Mumbai.

On the investment front, Zepto has pegged over  $1 Bn in the last three to four months.

Last month, Zepto raised $340 Mn (about INR 2,850 Cr) in a ‘follow-on financing’ round, led by General Catalyst, at a valuation of $5 Bn. In June, the quick commerce major raised $665 Mn in its pre-IPO funding round at a valuation of $3.6 Bn.

Founded in 2021 by Palicha and Kaivalya Vohra, Zepto is a quick commerce startup that claims to offer 10-minute deliveries of groceries and other items. Last year, Zepto became the first unicorn of 2023 after raising $200 Mn in its Series E funding round.

It competes with the likes of Zomato-owned Blinkit, Swiggy Instamart, recently launched Flipkart Minutes, and Tata-owned BigBasket. 

Zepto is also reported to be gearing up for an initial public offering (IPO) next year. Earlier this year, Inc42 reported that the quick commerce unicorn was looking to reverse flip to India by 2026. 

Zepto saw its operating revenue surge 14.3X to INR 2,024.3 Cr in the financial year 2022-23 (FY23) from INR 140.7 Cr in the previous fiscal. Meanwhile, net loss jumped 3.4X year-on-year (YoY) to INR 1,272.4 Cr during the year under review.