Instamart Tests Offline Retail with Experimental Store in Gurugram

Instamart has opened an experimental offline store in Gurugram, according to sources. This marks a pilot initiative rather than a strategic shift toward omnichannel retail. Key details of the experiment: Stores will be Instamart-branded but seller-owned and operated Sales revenue goes directly to the seller, not to Instamart The format is purely experimental, not a rollout plan Each store will carry a few hundred SKUs, compared to ~40,000 SKUs in Instamart dark stores Store size below 1,000 sq ft Product mix includes fruits, vegetables, pulses, new D2C brands, and select daily essentials What this signals: A low-capex, asset-light test to understand offline demand Opportunity for local sellers and D2C brands to leverage Instamart’s brand visibility Potential insights into assortment curation, unit economics, and consumer behavior outside the dark-store model For now, Instamart continues to remain quick-commerce first, using this pilot to gather data rather than redefine its business model. Markets will watch whether the experiment scales or stays limited to select locations.