From Zepto To Blinkit: Dark Patterns Behind The Quick Commerce Boom

Algorithms are everywhere these days, and consumers have adapted to them, often without realising the extent to which these algorithms shape their buying decisions. And nowhere is this more evident than in the quick commerce space today, where dark patterns on Zepto, Swiggy Instamart and Blinkit have set off several concerns.

Algorithmic pricing is not new — products aimed at women have the so-called pink tax, while modern day algorithms might show you higher prices for flights and holidays on a more expensive Apple Macbook than a PC.

But when the price of coriander spikes simply because a user owns a more expensive phone, it’s inevitably a red flag. And then there are instances of hidden charges and fees being surreptitiously added to the final bill.

So this Sunday, let’s see why dark patterns have become a sore point in the quick commerce growth story. But first a look at the top stories of the week from our newsroom:

• The SaaS Investment Boom: In the face of global geopolitical shifts, Indian VCs and startup investors are increasingly seeing AI and SaaS investments as the moat for the Indian startup ecosystem, highlighted by the number of mega rounds in this space in the first two months of 2025
• Paytm’s True Picture: As Paytm promises to go profitable in the next two quarters, it has stepped up focus on the main revenue driver, margin maker, and growth areas to raise the topline. But what’s the reality for the fintech giant, and how far is it from the claims?
• India’s First Photonic Quantum Computer: India’s INR 6,000 Cr National Quantum Mission is looking to revamp the nation’s computing capabilities, and Quanfluence is looking to put India on the global quantum computing map with its first photonic quantum computer

What Zepto & Other Apps Are Hiding

Consumer outrage around dark patterns on 10-minute delivery apps have steadily increased just as the revenue for the platforms. While the likes of Zepto, Blinkit and Swiggy on track to rake in close to $2 Bn in revenue at the end of FY25, consumers feel a lot of this is built on hidden charges and dark patterns that seem to discriminate between income groups, neighbourhoods within a city and more.

While price fluctuations are a major concern, other troubling issues have also emerged.

Dark patterns, as defined by India’s official government guidelines, refer to user interface and experience designs that compromise consumer autonomy and push them towards choices that are not in their best interest.

The guidelines identify several forms of dark patterns, including false urgency, basket sneaking, confirmation shaming– which attempts to guilt consumers into making a particular choice, forced action, where users must perform unrelated actions to complete their intended purchase, and subscription traps that make cancellations difficult.

Many users have reported discrepancies in Zepto’s billing system, with cart totals that do not always add up and packaging charges discreetly hidden within the “Bill Summary.”

One user posted on X: “On the app, the bill total is shown as INR 1,600 with no mention of a packaging charge. However, the total cost of the items only comes to INR 1,574. If you dig deeper and download a GST invoice, the packaging charge suddenly appears.”

Meanwhile, for Zepto Pass users, free delivery is advertised for orders above INR 99, yet it does not apply automatically—customers must manually tick a checkbox to claim it.

In another case, Zepto provides “free cash” to many users, yet they frequently report being unable to use it. A Reddit user wrote: “I got INR 125 added to my Zepto wallet, but it was unavailable every time I tried to use it. When I contacted customer support, they told me I could use it after placing an order. However, the cash expired the moment I completed the order—even though the expiry date was listed as 29th December 2025.”

For many users, Zepto’s “free cash” was perpetually unavailable due to “high demand”—even in the middle of the night.

The Trouble With Blinkit, Swiggy Instamart 

Competing quick commerce platforms, such as Zomato’s Blinkit, offer customers free gifts. However, these promotions often come with a catch—users must meet a minimum spending requirement to claim them.

Additionally, hidden handling fees and small cart charges also subtly inflate the final bill. While prices may seem competitive at first glance, they often mask higher-than-average costs.

Some users have even reported that Blinkit occasionally adds promotional items to their orders without consent, raising concerns about the platform’s reliance on such tactics.

Similarly, Swiggy Instamart has been accused of adding promotional products to orders without user consent. Furthermore, if a customer has previously tipped a delivery partner, the tipping option is set as a default for future orders.

The Android Vs iPhone Debate

Users have noticed price discrepancies for the same product depending on the device they are using—particularly on Zepto.

An Instagram influencer discovered that 500 grams of grapes were priced at INR 65 on an Android device but INR 146 on an iPhone. Likewise, capsicum was listed at INR 37 on Android and INR 69 on an iPhone.

When Inc42 tested, we found that four apples were marked at INR 253 on an Android device, with a discount bringing the cost down to INR 106. Meanwhile, the same product on an iPhone was originally marked at INR 238, but the discounted price was INR 156.

Siddharth Dungarwal, CEO and founder of fashion brand Snitch, believes that such pricing strategies are common in marketplace businesses, and have been around for much longer than quick commerce apps.

“In service-based businesses, optimising margins through strategic pricing is standard practice. Marketplaces typically purchase stock at a set price and have discretion over how they price and sell it, often returning unsold stock on an adjusted basis,” said Snitch’s Dungarwal.

Companies segment customers into different groups and adjust prices accordingly, but in the age of quick commerce, this segmentation seems to have taken an hyper evolved form.

Differential pricing is a point of discussion in the Indian parliament as well.

Minister of consumer affairs Pralhad Joshi claimed in the house that ride-hailing platforms Ola and Uber have denied allegations of differential pricing for Android and iPhone users.  Joshi said that the matter has now been sent to the director general (investigation) of the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) for detailed investigation.

The CCPA had issued notices to the two cab aggregators for displaying different fares for identical rides on Android and iOS devices.

Bharat Bhalla, founder of Yu Foods, a direct-to-consumer (D2C) brand that relies on quick commerce platforms, noted that from a brand’s perspective, companies do not and cannot differentiate pricing based on a customer’s device type or location.

“The only possible level of customisation is city-specific discounts. However, these apps might employ algorithmic pricing strategies that lead to variations, a practice already prevalent in sectors like travel and hospitality.”

Bhalla further explained that his company follows a bulk purchase model rather than the sale-or-return (SoR) approach used by many newer brands. In this model, inventory is sold outright to platforms, which then determine the pricing.

Despite this, founders point out that marketplaces cannot legally sell products above the maximum retail price (MRP), although they have flexibility to price below it. However, this does not always hold true in practice.

A Reddit user highlighted that Zepto was charging above MRP in some cases. A pack of ice cream was listed at INR 80 before being discounted to INR 52.4, while its actual MRP was only INR 50. When the user raised this issue with customer service, they received a vague apology stating that “amounts may fluctuate.”

Similarly, another customer reported that a variety of dal was listed at INR 124 on Zepto, while its MRP was INR 115. When they contacted customer support, they were told they should be “grateful for receiving free cash.”

However, Dhruvil Sanghvi, founder and CEO of logistics SaaS company LogiNext, argued that selling above MRP is legally permissible. He pointed out that pricing differences exist across retail environments, whether shopping in a mall, online, or in different countries.

Other founders pointed out that instead of fluctuating product prices, platforms should adjust surge pricing, handling fees, or other dynamic charges based on customer profiles. “As a customer, I’d feel cheated if I discovered I was being charged more for the same product than another user,” Bhalla said, for instance.

However, Sanghvi believes consumer perception plays a key role. “Customers tend to react more negatively to additional charges appearing at checkout than to variations in the listed product price itself,” he noted.

What The Law Says About Dark Patterns?

In India, the CCPA introduced the “Guidelines for Prevention and Regulation of Dark Patterns, 2023,” which came into effect on November 30, 2023.

These guidelines explicitly prohibit digital platforms, advertisers, and sellers from engaging in deceptive design tactics that manipulate or mislead consumers into making unintended decisions.

These deceptive strategies are now classified as unfair trade practices under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, and companies engaging in them are subject to legal consequences, including fines and penalties imposed by the CCPA.

The government was also mulling to launch an app to alert customers about the use of dark patterns.

It does not help matters that retailers’ associations have looked to clamp down on quick commerce due to their heavy impact on kirana stores in Tier 1 cities. Dark patterns are very likely to become a focal point of how these platforms are gaming the pricing system to displace traditional retailers and kiranas.

Today, quick commerce companies not only have to justify the millions of dollars invested in expanding the business but also fight for market share while maintaining some semblance of profitability.

This conundrum has put quick commerce apps under a lot of pressure, as we have seen in the past six months, where most companies have turned to expansion mode rather than focussing on profitability as was the case in mid 2024.

The wave of the quick commerce brigade — led by Zepto, Blinkit and Swiggy Instamart — has definitely added a measure of convenience to the life of urban consumers in India, but the dark patterns will continue to be a point of debate.

Sunday Roundup: Startup Funding, Deals & More

• With $429 Mn raised this past week by Indian startups, total funding for the year is close to the $3 Bn mark well before the end of the first quarter

• IPO-bound home services startup Urban Company has jumped on the quick commerce bandwagon with the launch of a 15-minute maid booking service dubbed ‘Insta Maids’
• Ahead of Starlink’s entry into India, the government has directed the Elon Musk-led satellite communication (satcom) operator to comply with a slew of new mandates
• VC firm 3one4 Capital has clocked a 58X return on its investment in Darwinbox, and its first fund has achieved a “+1.0 DPI distributions to paid-in capital
• Breaking the monotony in the UPI market share, Flipkart-owned payments app super.money has become the fifth largest UPI player in February, overtaking Kunal Shah-led CRED