Swiggy, Zepto Slow Dark-Store Push in Bid to Conserve Cash

India’s quick-commerce operators are putting the brakes on an aggressive roll-out of “dark stores” as they try to stem heavy cash burn. Industry executives say Swiggy’s Instamart, Zepto and Flipkart Minutes have begun renegotiating warehouse leases and are largely focusing on driving more orders through existing sites rather than chasing new locations. Swiggy added just 42 dark stores in the June quarter, bringing its network to 1,062, while Zepto has paused expansion after building about 1,000 outlets. Both companies still hold sizeable war chests—roughly $620 million for Swiggy and up to $750 million for Zepto—but analysts warn those reserves could be depleted quickly if capital spending does not ease. An outlier is Blinkit. Bolstered by parent Eternal’s $2 billion in available cash, the company intends to almost double its footprint to 3,000 dark stores from 1,544 as of 30 June. Blinkit’s gross order value surged 140% year on year last quarter to ₹11,821 crore, illustrating the growth potential of the segment even as peers pull back. The retrenchment follows a year in which soaring real-estate costs and a ‘land-grab’ strategy inflated operating expenses. Brokerages estimate the quick-commerce market could nearly quadruple to $30 billion by 2028, but some analysts caution that a slower build-out may leave companies exposed if rivals densify their networks or delivery speeds slip.