Swiggy Shuts Down ‘Minis’ Storefront Platform, Deadline Set for August 1

The popular food and grocery delivery service Swiggy is closing Minis, an online shopfront for creators and small businesses, in order to concentrate more on its key pillars of rapid commerce and food delivery while closing non-core enterprises.

According to information obtained by a media outlet, the corporation has informed vendors that the service will be ended by August 10. Before the deadline, sellers are urged to finish any outstanding orders, take payouts, and shut down their stores.

In late 2022, Minis was launched to allow retailers to create basic internet shopfronts without having to pay commissions or create a website. Merchants might use social media to advertise their shopfronts, handle payments and delivery, and display goods and services.

To facilitate discovery, Swiggy also briefly included Minis stores in its main app. Minis was a component of Swiggy's larger goal to develop software-as-a-service (SaaS)-style solutions for independent sellers and small enterprises.

Over the years, the company has experimented with a number of merchant-facing services, like Swiggy Genie, to facilitate hyperlocal trade. One of the rare attempts to give retailers complete control over their shopfronts and branding was Minis.

Reasons for the Closure

Similar to solutions like Linktree, Swiggy redesigned the offering in 2024 to serve as a "link in bio" landing page for businesses that prioritise Instagram or WhatsApp. Minis soon lost its presence in the Swiggy ecosystem.

The change put Minis in direct conflict with native shopfront capabilities on platforms like Linktree, Dukaan, and Meta. Minis remained a free solution designed for sellers that mostly relied on social media for reach and discovery, in contrast to Shopify or Dukaan, which provide more extensive integrations for inventory, customer data, and marketing.

Regarding the withdrawal, Swiggy has not made a public statement. Minis' closure coincides with Swiggy's intention to concentrate on its core services, which include meal delivery and fast commerce (through Instamart), during a period when industry-wide attention is still firmly focused on operational scalability and profitability.

Swiggy has been methodically closing its non-core operations as part of this transition. It has closed its meat marketplace, InsanelyGood (its premium grocery platform, which merged with Instamart), Swiggy Genie (its pick-up and drop service), and Handpicked (an experimental gourmet grocery vertical) throughout the last two years.

Focusing More on its Core Domain by Adding New Services

Using its Eco Saver mode, Swiggy's new INR 99 Store on the main app offers single-serve items for a fixed INR 99 with free delivery. The new category, which is active in more than 175 cities, is aimed at frequent, cost-conscious users, particularly students and Gen-Z consumers.

Additionally, Swiggy has been rapidly growing its food and basics delivery vertical, Instamart. Instamart increased the number of its locations from 705 to 1,021 in the January–March quarter (Q4 FY25) by adding 316 dark stores.

Previously, the company was only adding 50 to 100 outlets a quarter, so this represents a significant boost in the pace of expansion. Swiggy's decision to leave Minis highlights its larger plan to focus operations on high-volume, high-frequency categories in an effort to create a more streamlined and lucrative company.