Swipe, Scroll, Surcharge: Grocery Apps Add a Bite to Your Basket

India's top fast commerce platforms—Instamart, Zepto, and Blinkit—are tightening their margins. Since July 2025, these platforms have begun charging fresh fees for orders placed below a minimum order value (MOV) threshold, in a bid to stem increasing operating losses and improve profitability.

Key Updates

Zepto now charges a delivery fee for purchases below ₹175

Instamart has revised its MOV to ₹99, with extra delivery fees on low baskets

Blinkit also charges a quick delivery fee and additional charges for bulk or discounted orders

Surge pricing can be done during rush hours or when there are few delivery personnel

Why the Change?

Profit Pressure

As volumes go through the roof, platforms hemorrhage money

Blinkit posted an operating loss of ₹178 crore in Q1 2025

Instamart's gross order value doubled to ₹4,670 crore, while EBITDA losses widened to ₹840 crore

Growing Take Rates

The extra charges are meant to increase take rates—the percentage of income platforms make per order

Experts opine that the changes are necessary to offset customer discounts with payments to gig workers

Customer Impact

They now deal with basket-sized fees, rainy-day fees, and higher fees on large carts

Charges range from ₹6 to ₹30 per order, depending on the platform and location

Social networking sites abound with complaints about hidden fees and declining worth

Market Outlook

India's rapidly growing commerce sector is projected to reach $30 billion by FY30

Platforms are facing pressure to grow sustainably with intense competition from BigBasket, Flipkart Minutes, and others

Government has asked platforms to review fee disclosures for themselves amid rising consumer concerns

Sources: NewsBytes, Moneycontrol, Economic Times BrandEquity, JM Financial, Swiggy, Eternal Ltd, Zepto, Blinkit