Eternal, Nykaa and Delhivery post Q3 growth as India retail heads toward ₹215 trillion

Eternal’s Q3 FY26 revenue rose 201.9% year on year, Nykaa’s revenue grew 27% and Delhivery’s express-parcel volumes climbed 43%. The results come as BCG and RAI project India’s retail market could reach ₹210–215 trillion by 2035.

— FiledWed, 26 Aug, 2026, 05:46 IST·First seen Wed, 26 Aug, 2026, 05:46 IST·Source Financial Express · BrandWagon

What happened

Eternal (formerly Zomato) · India’s retail-tech leaders reported divergent Q3 FY26 performance. Eternal gained from quick commerce and food delivery, Nykaa

Key facts

  • India retail market projected at Rs 210–215 trillion by 2035, from Rs 90–95 trillion in 2025
  • Eternal Q3 FY26 revenue: Rs 16,315 crore, up 201.9% YoY
  • Eternal Q3 FY26 net profit: Rs 102 crore, up 102.9% YoY
  • Eternal added more than 200 net stores
  • Nykaa Q3 FY26 revenue: Rs 2,873 crore, up 27% YoY
  • Nykaa Q3 FY26 net profit: Rs 68 crore, up 156% YoY
  • Nykaa gross margin: 45.2%; EBITDA margin: 8.0%
  • Nykaa added 11 stores, reaching 276 stores across 94 cities
  • Nykaa B2B platform serves over 4.8 lakh retailers across 1,100 cities
  • Delhivery Q3 FY26 service revenue: about Rs 2,798 crore, up 18% YoY
  • Delhivery net profit: about Rs 110 crore before integration costs and Rs 40 crore after
  • Delhivery express-parcel volume: 295 million, up 43% YoY

Why this matters

Strategic buyers should prioritize partnerships or acquisitions in last-mile logistics, retail technology and high-frequency digital commerce capabilities to secure position ahead of India’s expanding retail opportunity.

What to watch

  • Quarterly growth in express-parcel volumes, revenue per shipment and Delhivery EBITDA margins.
  • Eternal order growth, customer frequency, take rates, delivery costs and the balance between quick-commerce expansion and cash burn.
  • Nykaa GMV growth versus revenue growth, beauty-category gross margin, private-label mix and offline-store payback.
  • Retail inflation, urban discretionary-spending trends and credit availability for consumer and small-business purchases.
  • Warehouse leases, dark-store openings, gig-worker supply, delivery-partner earnings and regulatory action affecting platform labor or e-commerce practices.
  • Whether organized retail's share of total consumption rises faster than projected, particularly in tier-2 and tier-3 cities.
  • Eternal is likely to prioritize order-frequency expansion, merchant monetization, logistics density and adjacent commerce categories rather than headline GMV alone.
  • Nykaa is likely to deepen premium-brand partnerships, expand private-label penetration and use omnichannel stores to lower customer-acquisition dependence.
  • Delhivery is likely to add capacity selectively, pursue higher-yield express and B2B freight customers, and sell logistics technology or fulfillment services to emerging retail brands.
  • Large offline retailers will accelerate marketplace partnerships, ship-from-store capabilities, loyalty programs and regional warehouse investments.
  • Smaller D2C brands may increasingly outsource fulfillment and demand generation to larger platforms, reducing their operational independence.