I was going through Zepto's DRHP and came across some interesting numbers.
Zepto plans to raise ₹8,000 Cr through a fresh issue. The Offer for Sale (OFS) component is only around ₹550 Cr making up less than 10% of the total IPO size.
It's encouraging to see new-age companies structure IPOs with a higher fresh issue component and a lower OFS, signalling that the primary objective is funding future growth rather than providing an exit to existing shareholders.
𝗙𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗰𝘀 stood out.
1. Net Revenue
FY25: ₹5,175 Cr, FY26: ₹8,134 Cr
Demand is still accelerating despite a much larger base. No signs of a plateau yet.
2. Orders Per Store Per Day (OPD)
1,433 → 2,140
Zepto isn't relying solely on opening new stores to grow. Existing stores are processing significantly more orders.
3. Cost Per Order
₹180.6 → ₹127.8
More orders flowing through the same infrastructure means denser delivery routes, better asset utilisation and lower costs.
4. Free Cash Flow Per Order
-₹102.8 → -₹42
They're still losing money on every order.
But they've reduced cash burn by almost 60%.
That's a meaningful improvement.
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴
- Zepto's strategy appears to be built around a simple idea:
Profitability comes from density, not geography.
- While competitors have expanded across more cities, Zepto has focused on increasing order density within existing catchments.
According to the filing:
• Q4 FY26 orders: 210 million
• Average order value: ~₹330
• Current scale: ~2.3 million orders per day
- Management believes that at around 4.5 million orders per day, costs could fall close to ₹95 per order, dramatically improving economics.
𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀?
- In traditional retail, one of the most important metrics is inventory turns.
- The faster inventory moves, the less capital remains stuck on shelves.
Quick commerce has its own version of that metric in Orders Per Store Per Day.
Higher OPD means:
• Better utilisation of dark stores
• Better utilisation of delivery networks
• Lower fixed cost per order
When enough orders flow through the same infrastructure, costs naturally get absorbed across a larger base.
𝗠𝘆 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗮𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗗𝗥𝗛𝗣
- Zepto's most important metric may not be revenue, valuation or even market share.
- It might simply be that Cost per order fell from ₹180.6 to ₹127.8 while order density surged.
- All this happened with more orders and lower costs.
- That's operating leverage showing numbers.
𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗲𝘀 𝗔𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗱
• Intense competition from Blinkit, Swiggy Instamart could trigger fresh discount wars and pressure margins.
• Zepto's average order value (~₹330) remains significantly lower than Blinkit's (~₹525) raising the question of whether density can consistently outperform larger basket sizes.
The winner in quick commerce may not be the company that delivers the fastest but the one that makes every delivery cheaper than the last.