Why Blinkit’s Warehouses Are Feeling the Festive Season Heat – Explained

Quick commerce giant Blinkit is reportedly facing operational hiccups at some of its major warehouses amid the festive season rush. The Economic Times reported that the disruptions have affected key fulfilment centres, which feed smaller dark stores in Haryana, Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengalutu. This resulted in a temporary pause on inbound orders.

Blinkit has also halted the acceptance of new and pre-launch products till October 21, as it grapples with high warehouse utilisation. The company has communicated to sellers that storage spaces are currently operating at full capacity.

“Due to the ongoing festive season and high warehouse utilisation, our storage spaces are operating at full capacity,” Blinkit told its sellers in an email, as quoted by ET.

The move came during the peak retail period of the year, with Diwali sales surging across e-commerce and quick commerce platforms. Several sellers told the publication that the disruption has led to missed opportunities to list key products in time for the festive season.

Sellers also said that appointment slots for dispatching inventory were getting filled within hours at major hubs such as Farukhnagar (Haryana), and Bengaluru. However, smaller partners faced delays stretching over a week.

Notably, a company spokesperson called the operational pause a “routine festive measure”. “Every year, during the peak festive period, we pause new brand onboarding due to high warehouse utilisation. The pause on trial or launch-awaited product inwarding remains in effect till 31st October 2025, with regular operations resuming on 1st November 2025,” the spokesperson said, as quoted by the report.

Pause Amid Inventory Model Shift

These disruptions coincide with Blinkit’s recent transition to an inventory-led model. In September, the platform has moved away from the marketplace model, where brands directly sold on the platform. Now, Blinkit directly purchases products from manufacturers and manages stock internally.

Under the new model, sellers sell in bulk to the platform, which then resells to customers under its own brand or interface. In short, sellers have no visibility to end customers, and the platform's revenue comes from product margins.

This model aims to improve margins, operational control, and product assortment, which enables Blinkit to experiment with the new and underserved categories.

On the other hand, the shift also means that the company needs to manage larger volumes of inventory in-house, which makes it more vulnerable to warehouse-level congestion during high-demand periods. The current disruptions highlight the operational challenges that can arise when a company transitions to a model that requires deeper supply chain control.

Blinkit’s Supply Chain Test Ahead

These operational hurdles underscore the challenges of scaling at a time when Blinkit is doubling down on growth and profitability metrics. The Eternal-owned quick commerce major currently commands 50% market share in India’s 10-minute delivery space, while its competitors like Zepto, Swiggy Instamart, Amazon Now, and Flipkart Minutes account for the rest.

Currently, the company is operating more than 1,500 dark stores as of June 2025, and plans to expand the network to 2,000 by the end of 2026. Financially, Blinkit reported a EBITDA loss of ₹162 crore in Q1 FY26, an increase from a loss of ₹3 crore incurred during the same period last year, due to dark store expansion.

On a sequential bsis, the adjusted EBITDA loss was comparatively lower than ₹178 crore recorded in Q4 FY25. Its revenue also witnessed an increase of 155% YoY to ₹2,400 crore. In the previous quarter, the number stood at 942 crore.

Meanwhile, Blinkit’s gross order value (GOV) rose sharply to ₹11,821 crore in the June quarter, up from ₹4,923 crore in Q1 FY25 and ₹9,421 crore in the preceding quarter. The platform’s average order value (AOV) remained largely stable at ₹669 during the quarter, showing a slight uptick from ₹665 in the March quarter and ₹625 in the same period last year.

The ongoing disruptions serve as a reminder that while Blinkit’s inventory-led model could unlock higher margins and greater control, it also raises the stakes for supply chain efficiency—particularly during India’s busiest shopping season.