Ecommerce

Eternal lifts Blinkit dark-store target to 3,500 by March 2027

Network hits 2,751 after 308 additions in Q2; smaller-city economics and 79% NOV growth justify faster rollout for merchants and riders.

Ananya Rao, Editor·28 October 2026·4 min read

Stacked crates and sorting shelves inside a lit warehouse aisle

Eternal raised Blinkit’s dark-store target to 3,500 by March 2027 from 3,000 earlier, and flagged 5,000 by March 2028, after Q2 results showed 2,751 stores at end-September. The quick-commerce arm added 308 net stores in the quarter. Net order value rose 79.3% year-on-year to ₹20,940 crore.

Blinkit now aims for most new stores in smaller cities and newer categories, with capex held at a blended ₹2.5 crore per site and payback matching metro pace. Average order values sit at 85-90% of metro levels.

For the dark-store picker and rider this means denser routes and higher daily orders per site, already at ₹9 lakh NOV per store per day against an ₹11 lakh steady-state goal. A neighbourhood kirana loses the 10-minute grocery run that now leaves the dark store.

Blinkit added 308 stores last quarter and still raised the FY27 target.

The acceleration squeezes Zepto and Instamart on density while helping FMCG brands secure faster last-mile slots. Eternal’s consolidated revenue hit ₹24,138 crore, up 77.6%, though profit stayed thin.

Watch store additions through the current festive window and the March 2027 filing for the revised 3,500 count and any margin update on the 0.9% adjusted EBITDA of NOV.

Filed under Ecommerce·Ananya Rao

Readers' mark

Be the first to mark this story.

Ask the desk

What does this mean for the shop floor?

Signed-in readers can put a question to the desk. We file a short take on this story — not a press release.

Also in this book

Parked delivery bags and crates outside a small neighbourhood shop shutter

Opinion · Ecommerce

Why Blinkit’s 3,500-store race changes the kirana math

Dark-store density in smaller cities is no longer experimental; it is the new baseline that forces every neighbourhood grocer to defend the 10-minute order.

The Desk · 28 Oct · 4 min read

Rows of packed grocery shelves inside a windowless dark store with delivery crates stacked

Ecommerce

Blinkit posts ₹184 crore profit as Instamart losses hit ₹895 crore

Eternal's quick-commerce arm handles three times the orders and turns adjusted EBITDA positive while Swiggy's unit widens the gap.

Ananya Rao · 27 Oct · 4 min read

Warehouse packing station with sealed cartons stacked under industrial lights ready for dispatch

Ecommerce

Flipkart festive DAUs hit new high on day one

Non-metro shoppers and first-timers power Big Billion Days open; horizontal platforms see early volume lift.

Ananya Rao · 26 Oct · 4 min read