Quick commerce firms boost dark store investments as sector expands

Quick commerce platforms Blinkit and Instamart are ramping up investment per dark store location as the sector matures and consolidates around larger fulfillment centers. The two companies have raised capex guidance to around ₹2.5 crore per facility from ₹1 crore, reflecting a strategic shift toward bigger, more capable infrastructure.

Newer dark store facilities now exceed 5,000 square feet in size, a significant increase from earlier, smaller format stores. These expanded footprints enable the platforms to carry wider product assortments, allowing them to serve customers with greater variety while maintaining quick delivery timelines.

The shift toward larger dark stores represents a maturing phase in India's quick commerce sector. Rather than proliferating numerous micro-warehouses, platforms are consolidating operations into fewer but better-equipped hubs that can handle higher order volumes and diverse product categories more efficiently.

Investment in dark store infrastructure remains critical to the growth strategies of quick commerce players competing for market share. The increased per-store capex reflects both higher real estate costs and the technological requirements of modern fulfillment operations, including automation and inventory management systems.