Flipkart and Amazon Lose User Share as Quick Commerce Grows

September 11, 2026 4 Min Read

India’s two largest e-commerce platforms, Flipkart and Amazon, are expanding beyond traditional online shopping as quick commerce platforms gain a larger share of online shoppers. Their strategies now include rapid delivery, microdramas, shoppable entertainment and food delivery as the companies look for new ways to increase user engagement.

According to data from Sensor Tower cited in a Goldman Sachs report, Flipkart and Amazon’s combined share of monthly active users in India declined from 67% in 2022 to 53% year to date in August 2026. During the same period, quick-commerce apps including Blinkit, Zepto, BigBasket, Instamart and JioMart increased their combined share from 5% to 16% by August 28, 2026.

The changing user-share landscape is encouraging major e-commerce companies to focus on more frequent interactions with their apps.

Flipkart’s monthly active user base grew 15% year over year in July 2026, while Amazon’s user base continued to contract, according to data cited in recent industry coverage. At the same time, both companies are expanding their rapid-delivery operations.

Flipkart Minutes has grown to more than 1,000 dark stores across around 120–130 cities. Amazon Now, meanwhile, has around 500–600 stores across 11 cities, according to UBS channel checks reported by Financial Express.

The expansion shows how quick commerce is becoming an increasingly important part of the competition for online shoppers.

Flipkart Moves Into Microdramas

Flipkart is also using entertainment to increase engagement within its shopping platform.

The company entered the microdrama segment in September by partnering with Pratilipi’s Double Tap Films and Terribly Tiny Tales. The initiative brings short-form, vertical scripted content to Flipkart through a dedicated entertainment experience.

Double Tap Films has brought 30 vertical-format titles to the platform, with plans involving stories from Pratilipi’s wider content library. The strategy gives customers another reason to spend time on the Flipkart app beyond shopping.

Shoppable TV Connects Content With Commerce

Flipkart is also experimenting with ways to turn entertainment into a direct shopping opportunity.

Dangal TV and Starcom India partnered with Flipkart on a content-to-commerce campaign involving the Hindi drama Rimjhim. Products featured or used by characters can be tagged so viewers can discover and purchase them through Flipkart.

The campaign creates a direct connection between entertainment and online shopping, potentially allowing brands to reach consumers at the moment they see a product on screen.

Flipkart Tests Food Delivery

Flipkart is expanding into another major consumer category with Eat In, its food-delivery initiative.

The company has started testing Eat In among employees in Bengaluru, with a wider internal rollout expected before a broader consumer launch in the city. The service is being developed with ONDC and would put Flipkart in competition with established food-delivery platforms such as Zomato and Swiggy.

The move illustrates how Flipkart is exploring services beyond retail and quick commerce as it looks to increase the number of activities customers can complete within its ecosystem.

Amazon Expands Its Entertainment Ecosystem

Amazon is following a broader ecosystem strategy of its own.

Amazon has integrated Amazon MX Player into Prime Video in India, bringing its free and paid entertainment offerings together within the Prime Video experience. The move builds on Amazon’s earlier acquisition of certain MX Player assets and its subsequent development of Amazon MX Player.

For Amazon, entertainment provides another way to keep customers engaged with its ecosystem when they are not actively shopping.

How Flipkart and Amazon Are Expanding

Area	Flipkart	Amazon
Core shopping	E-commerce marketplace	E-commerce marketplace
Quick commerce	Flipkart Minutes	Amazon Now
Entertainment	Microdramas and shoppable content	Prime Video + Amazon MX Player
Food delivery	Eat In testing	—
Broader strategy	Expand engagement and shopping frequency	Build a wider consumer ecosystem

Why Quick Commerce Matters

The rise of quick commerce is changing the competitive environment for traditional e-commerce platforms. Customers increasingly have access to faster delivery for everyday products, giving rapid-delivery services more opportunities to become part of their regular shopping habits.

For Flipkart and Amazon, the response is not limited to faster deliveries. Both companies are experimenting with entertainment, additional services and new forms of commerce that could increase how often users return to their platforms.

This points to a broader shift in Indian e-commerce, where competition is increasingly about frequency, convenience and engagement, rather than simply the size of a product catalogue.

FAQs

Why are Flipkart and Amazon expanding beyond online shopping?

The companies are responding to a changing competitive environment, including the growth of quick commerce and evolving consumer expectations around convenience and digital services.

What is Flipkart Minutes?

Flipkart Minutes is Flipkart’s rapid-delivery service, offering everyday products through a network of dark stores.

What is Amazon Now?

Amazon Now is Amazon’s quick-commerce service focused on faster delivery of products in selected markets.

Is Flipkart entering food delivery?

Yes. Flipkart is currently testing its Eat In food-delivery service among employees in Bengaluru ahead of a broader rollout.

What happened to Amazon MX Player?

Amazon has integrated Amazon MX Player into Prime Video in India, bringing its free and paid entertainment offerings into the Prime Video experience.

Conclusion

The growth of quick commerce is pushing Flipkart and Amazon to rethink how they compete for consumer attention. Both companies are expanding their rapid-delivery operations while also exploring entertainment, food delivery and new connections between content and commerce.

For Flipkart, initiatives such as Minutes, microdramas and Eat In broaden its role beyond traditional e-commerce. Amazon is similarly combining shopping with rapid delivery and entertainment through Amazon Now and Prime Video.

Whether these new services can increase user engagement remains to be seen, but the direction is clear: India’s e-commerce competition is becoming increasingly focused on giving consumers more reasons to return to the same platform.