How 10-Minute Delivery Makes You Spend More—and How to Stop

Why Grocery Spending Can Feel Like It Has Doubled

The video explains why grocery spending can feel as though it has doubled, even when staple prices have risen less dramatically. It distinguishes inflation, which shoppers largely cannot control, from purchasing habits shaped by quick-commerce apps, which they can.

Quick-commerce businesses grow by acquiring more customers and increasing how often they order. The video argues that the same convenience can encourage extra purchases, smaller baskets, and more frequent orders.

Business Model and Growth

The video says Blinkit’s growth came from two sources:

• More customers transacting on the platform.
• More orders per customer.

Blinkit processed about 40 crore orders, compared with roughly 22 crore the previous year. The average customer placed 3.6 orders per month. Average order value (AOV) was about ₹525, nearly unchanged from ₹524 the year before.

The presenter divides a reported ₹184 crore figure by 40 crore orders to estimate earnings of roughly ₹5 per order. He contrasts this with a long-term profitability goal of 6% of a ₹525 order, or about ₹31 per order. According to the video, companies will need to reduce delivery, sourcing, and supply costs—or increase what they earn per order.

The video also reports that Zepto lost around ₹5,900 crore in the financial year discussed. It presents profitability as an increasing priority for quick-commerce operators after a period of growth supported by investor funding.

How Apps Can Affect Spending

The video highlights several product and commercial tactics that can increase order frequency or basket size:

• Convenience and immediacy: Users can order items as soon as they think of them, rather than planning a monthly grocery trip.
• Smaller packs: Smaller quantities can make the checkout total seem low and encourage repeat orders, while potentially costing more per gram.
• Product variety and merchandising: Listings for organic, imported, or premium produce may encourage customers to choose more expensive options than they might find at a neighborhood vendor.
• Free-delivery thresholds: A low-cost add-on can make shoppers feel they are unlocking free delivery, even if they did not originally need the item.
• Fees: Delivery, small-cart, handling, and platform fees can make a small order much more expensive. One example in the video starts with a ₹70 basket and adds about ₹55 in charges, before an additional 18% GST on delivery charges.
• Checkout design and transparency: The presenter cites a reported ₹7 lakh fine against Zepto in August 2026, related to displaying handling charges late in checkout and adding memberships to carts without clear consent. The video says the practice stopped after the fine.

The presenter also cites a 2025 survey in which 32% of quick-commerce buyers said they had started buying more than they needed.

Inflation Versus Buying Habits

The video cites Department of Consumer Affairs data showing that potatoes averaged ₹21.22 per kilogram five years earlier and ₹22.67 per kilogram at the time of recording. Tomatoes were around ₹40 per kilogram.

For basic staples, the video estimates that goods costing ₹100 in 2021 would cost about ₹127 at the time of recording—an increase of roughly 27%. This helps explain why grocery costs have genuinely risen, while the presenter argues that frequent, unplanned ordering can add a separate layer of spending.

Price Comparisons and Illustrative Household Budget

A 2025 brokerage report from Prabhudas Lilladher, cited in the video, listed a 5 kg pack of Aashirvaad flour at:

• ₹283 at DMart
• ₹272 on Blinkit
• ₹311 on Zepto

Across the packaged-food examples reviewed, the presenter says quick-commerce prices varied: sometimes they were cheaper and sometimes more expensive. His stated averages were 6–9% off MRP on quick-commerce apps, compared with 2–5% off MRP at grocery stores.

Fresh produce is harder to compare because it often has no MRP, and apps offer multiple grades, origins, and premium labels.

The video models a family spending ₹6,000 per month on groceries:

• ₹3,600 on packaged goods
• ₹1,500 on fruit and vegetables
• ₹900 on milk and dairy

It estimates that the same basket cost about ₹4,800 five years earlier, attributing the difference to inflation. Moving all current shopping to apps is modeled at about ₹7,100, reflecting a mix of produce choices, fees, and additional purchases. A more planned approach is estimated at ₹5,200 for the same food, city, and needs. These are illustrative figures from the video, not a universal price comparison.

Recommended Playbook: The Three-List Approach

1. Monthly essentials: Buy planned, nonperishable packaged goods in bulk. Compare unit prices and discounts, whether shopping at a large-format retailer, a local store, or an app.
2. Weekly fresh groceries: Buy fruit, vegetables, and other regular perishables from a local vendor or market where possible.
3. Genuine emergencies: Reserve quick-commerce apps for unplanned needs rather than routine top-ups.

The practical recommendation is to review monthly app spending, track the share of grocery purchases made through quick commerce, and reduce habitual orders rather than treating every small purchase as an emergency.

Sources and Presenter

• Presenter: Ankur Warikoo.
• Sources cited in the video: Department of Consumer Affairs price data; Blinkit and Swiggy investor materials and company results; a 2025 Prabhudas Lilladher report; and an unspecified 2025 quick-commerce buyer survey.