Dark store count may touch 5,500 by FY26 as competition heats up in quick commerce: HSBC report

Amid increasing competition in the quick commerce sector, 5,000 to 5,500 stores are expected by the end of FY26 as platforms aggressively expand their dark store networks, according to an HSBC report.In the December quarter of FY25, Zomato-owned Blinkit reported higher losses, which came on account of the company’s expansion push. The quick commerce platform, which was aiming to operate 1,000 dark stores by March this year, surpassed the target ahead of its timeline, reaching 1,007 dark stores as of December 31.

The company also announced that it plans to have 2,000 dark stores, or micro warehouses from where 10-minute deliveries are made, by December 2025, accelerating its earlier target of December 2026.

Bengaluru-based Swiggy aims to take its dark store count up to 1,046 by March 2025 from 609 as of September 30 this year. The platform had also increased its IPO fundraise largely to fund its quick commerce business and had mentioned the same in its draft IPO papers.

According to the report, stocks of these companies have corrected, driven by increasing losses due to aggressive supply expansion. It however anticipates a moderation in the expansion strategy as these platforms will soon focus on improving their profitability.

“We believe leading companies like Zepto are likely to expand to 1,000 stores and then look to optimise this capacity and improve profitability. Even Blinkit may not end up opening 1,000 stores this year. Swiggy is also likely to expand its dark store count to 1,000 soon this year and then moderate its expansion going forward, in our view,” the note said.

Nexus Venture Partners-backed Zepto has also crossed its target of 700 dark stores by March, surpassing 900 stores, and now aims to expand to around 1,000. ET reported on Wednesday that the company is in talks to increase its IPO size to between $800 million and $1 billion, including secondaries. Zepto began working on its IPO plan in mid-2024, with a brief to bankers to raise around $450 million in primary capital.