Blinkit, Zepto may get relief, CCI investigation difficult

The quick commerce segment has grown rapidly in the last few years. The fear of Competition Commission of India (CCI) investigation against Blinkit and Zepto, the big companies in this segment, has reduced. CCI has not found sufficient reasons to investigate against these companies.

Sources with knowledge of the matter told NDTV Profit that no company appears to be in a dominant position in this segment. Apart from this, the business model of these companies has also not shown to be anti-competition. A source said CCI has reviewed the complaints against big companies in the quick commerce segment and has not found any sufficient reason to investigate. CCI believes that this is a new segment and investigating it at the initial stage may harm innovation.

Recently, All India Consumer Products Distributors Federation (AICPDF) had written in a letter to CCI that companies associated with quick commerce are trying to attract customers by giving low pricing or huge discounts. In this, CCI was requested to implement measures to protect the interests of general distributors and retailers. AICPDF, representing around four lakh retail distributors of big companies, had said in the letter that it is very difficult for ordinary distributors and retailers to compete with such methods. This year, the annual sales of companies related to quick commerce are likely to exceed six billion dollars. According to market research firm Datum Intelligence, Zomato-controlled Blinkit’s share in this market is about 40 percent.

E-commerce company Amazon is also facing tough competition from companies in the quick commerce segment. To deal with this, Amazon can enter this segment. For this, the company is preparing to launch a new service ‘Tez’. This may make it easier for Amazon to expand its business. Amazon is preparing stores for this. The company has started the trial of this service in Bengaluru. This service of Amazon may initially include groceries and daily essentials.