Quick commerce is a cash-guzzler, but Swiggy is unfazed

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Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Bengaluru: Growth investments being made into Swiggy’s quick commerce arm Instamart will mature over time as the firm works on reducing delivery costs and increasing advertising revenue, according to chief financial officer Rahul Bothra. The firm’s average order value in the October-December quarter was ₹534, up 14% year-on-year, while the cost of fulfilling a delivery is now the lowest it has ever been, Bothra told Mint in an interview on Wednesday.

Swiggy’s advertising revenue surged 65% to ₹751 crore in the December quarter. “These structural levers, as well as the maturity of these newly opened stores, will help us to get to the contribution margin break-even by the third quarter of FY26," Bothra said. Swiggy’s losses widened to ₹799 crore in October-December from ₹574 crore in the year-ago period, dragged by heightened investments in Instamart to keep up with intensifying competition in the quick commerce space.

Its operating revenue surged to ₹3,993 crore from ₹3,048 crore in the previous year. The listed food-tech company aims to double the area of its dark-store footprint to 4 million sq. ft by March 2025 and expects the maximum number of store additions in the fourth quarter.

“We added 96 stores in the December quarter. In January alone, we have added 86 stores, and we will add even more in the subsequent months. This is already part of our pipeline," the executive noted.