JioMart’s 1.6 Million Orders Are Changing Quick Commerce Economics

India’s quick commerce race has largely been framed as a battle of speed, subsidies, and scale. Reliance JioMart’s latest disclosures suggest a different contest is quietly underway, one centred on unit economics, store leverage, and execution depth rather than who delivers fastest in India’s top pin codes.

In its December quarter FY26 (Q3) investor presentation, Reliance Industries revealed that JioMart is now processing close to 1.6 million orders per day, placing it within striking distance of market leader Blinkit, which averages around 2 million daily orders. More notably, Reliance claims JioMart’s quick commerce operations are contribution-margin positive, a distinction that sets it apart from most of its startup-led rivals.

Scale Without Sustained Losses

Quick commerce has, until recently, been defined by sustained losses. Blinkit turned adjusted EBITDA positive only in Q3 FY26, reporting INR 4 crore in adjusted EBITDA. Swiggy Instamart posted a -2.6% contribution margin in Q2 FY26, while Zepto’s FY25 numbers are yet to be disclosed publicly, following a FY24 net loss of INR 1,248.64 crore.

Against this backdrop, JioMart’s claim of per-order profitability has triggered closer scrutiny across the sector.

Retail Infrastructure as a Competitive Weapon

Reliance attributes this momentum to a model that diverges sharply from venture-funded quick commerce playbooks. Instead of building dark stores from scratch, JioMart has repurposed its existing retail footprint, integrating quick commerce into a broader omnichannel system.

The company now operates across 1,000+ cities and 5,000+ pincodes, supported by around 3,000 retail locations. During the December quarter alone, Reliance added 300 dark stores, taking its total to 800.

For comparison:

• Blinkit operated 1,816 dark stores as of Q2 FY26

• Swiggy Instamart ran 1,102 dark stores

• Zepto crossed 1,000 dark stores by the end of 2025.

While Reliance still trails leaders on pure dark store count, its ability to shorten delivery distances using existing stores has helped lower fulfilment costs, one of the biggest cost centres in quick commerce.

A Measured Entry, Built Over Time

Reliance’s relatively slower entry into quick commerce was not accidental. For years, JioMart focused on scheduled deliveries through its digital marketplace, while Reliance Retail expanded its physical footprint to nearly 20,000 stores across formats.

Early experiments with 90-minute deliveries failed to gain traction, largely due to inconsistent customer experience and lack of fulfilment density.

“Between 2021 and 2022, JioMart struggled to match the convenience and reliability consumers were willing to pay for,” said one industry executive, speaking on condition of anonymity. “The dark store-led model has since matured. The question now is whether Reliance has truly closed that experience gap.”

Reliance also briefly sought external acceleration through a $240 million investment in Dunzo for a 26% stake, aiming to leverage Dunzo’s delivery network and dark stores. Dunzo’s shutdown last year forced Reliance to consolidate its strategy internally, just as the quick commerce market began scaling rapidly from 2023 onwards.

Pressure Shifts to Incumbents

By 2025, Blinkit, Zepto, and Instamart together were delivering over 4 million orders daily, cementing quick commerce as a mass-market behaviour rather than a niche convenience play.

What changes with JioMart’s rise is the economics narrative.

If Reliance can sustain contribution margins while scaling, it alters investor and operator expectations across the sector, especially as competition intensifies in Tier II and Tier III cities, where Flipkart Minutes and JioMart are expanding faster than venture-backed rivals optimised for metros.

Where the Real Competition Now Lies

Quick commerce is no longer just about who delivers fastest in urban clusters. It is becoming a test of cost discipline, store density, and ecosystem leverage.

Reliance’s entry does not immediately displace Blinkit or Zepto. But at 1.6 million daily orders and rising, it changes the competitive math and introduces a model where scale and profitability may no longer be mutually exclusive.