CCI Seeks Additional Details In Antitrust Review Of Zepto, Blinkit & Instamart: Report

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has reportedly sought additional information from a petitioner alleging anti-competitive practices by quick commerce players Zepto, Blinkit and Swiggy Instamart during its ongoing review of a plea.

An NDTV Profit report, citing people close to the matter, said that the CCI has asked the petitioner to provide further inputs on claims relating to market dominance, pricing strategies and operational practices of the three companies.

The petition was filed in March by the FMCG distributors’ body. The matter had originated when the members of All India Consumer Products Distributors Federation alleged that Zepto, Blinkit and Instamart engaged in practices that could restrict competition in the quick commerce segment.

The CCI initially sought AICPDF for details on the relevant market share of each of the quick commerce players in April.

While the CCI has not yet ordered a formal investigation, sources told NDTV Profit, the commission will consider an application to inspect company records after reviewing the fresh submissions from the petitioner. The proceedings are still in the initial review phase, during which the commission is gathering evidence to determine if a full probe is warranted.

Quick Commerce Sector Grappling With Troubles

In May, the CCI also notified new rules for determining the “cost” of goods and services to effectively evaluate alleged predatory pricing practices in ecommerce and quick commerce sectors.

The Competition Commission of India (Determination of Cost of Production) Regulations, 2025, suggested new norms envisaging a “sector-agnostic” framework that is flexible and adaptable to various industries, including the digital economy, to assess the “cost of production”.

Further, companies selling via quick commerce platforms have also been in trouble for their labels which refuse to make mandatory disclosures such as expiry and best before date for grocery and other daily essentials being sold on their platforms.

The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) sent notices to 11 ecommerce and quick commerce companies, including Blinkit, Zepto and Meesho, among others, for flouting metrology norms in October last year.

Quick Commerce Sector Driving India’s Market

Blinkit’s senior vice president (SVP) Anish Srivastava said that the number of dark stores in the country would hover in the range of 15,000 to 20,000 in the next two years, in a Farmley event, about a month ago.

During the event, he also said that “for all practical purposes”, the top 200 cities in India would transition to quick commerce from ecommerce by 2027, on the back of rising adoption of quick commerce in non-metros cities.

There is an evident growth of new entrants in the quick commerce sector, where businesses offering diverse products and services are experimenting their hands to shrink the timeline for a bigger market pie.

As adoption grows further on the back of digital-savvy consumers and rising internet penetration, the Indian quick commerce segment is projected to become a $40 Bn market by 2030.

However, Veeba founder and MD Viraj Bahl, while speaking at a fireside session at Inc42’s ‘The D2C & Retail Summit’, in July, highlighted how quick commerce eats through a brand’s margin, something that many D2C brands have been highlighting recently, and mentioned that for a business to turn profitable, founders must embrace the grind of distribution-led growth in general trade.

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