The short definition, also called minimum cart value
The smallest basket an app will accept, or the value below which it adds a fee. It varies by app, city and time.
Part of the topic: Check availability by pin code
What minimum order value means
Delivering one small item from a dark store costs the app almost as much as delivering a full bag. So apps set a threshold. Below it, they either refuse the order or add a fee, and some also charge for delivery until a higher line is crossed.
The thresholds are the app's own and change often. They can differ between cities, between new and returning shoppers, and between ordinary hours and late night.
How to think about the threshold
Treat the threshold as a gap the shopper wants to close. Note the common basket lines on each app you sell on, then look at which of your packs sit just under the gap a typical small basket leaves. Those are the packs a shopper reaches for at the last step.
A worked example, with invented numbers. An app adds a fee below a basket of 199. A shopper has items worth 170 and needs 29 more. A biscuit pack at 30 closes the gap; a pack at 60 overshoots it. The cheaper pack is the natural add, whatever its unit price.
How it shows up in India
Indian quick-commerce apps show the remaining amount in the basket and suggest small products to reach it. Low-priced snacks, sachets and single drinks often appear in that row. Festival offers sometimes lower or lift the line for a few days, which changes which packs get added.
What a brand should check
- The basket lines each app uses in your main cities, and when they change.
- Which of your packs are priced to close a typical gap.
- Whether your small packs appear in the app's suggestion row near checkout.
Common mistakes
- Assuming one app's threshold applies everywhere and at all hours.
- Pricing a trial pack just above the usual gap, so it never gets added.
- Treating the threshold as fixed when apps change it often.
Do not confuse with
- Free delivery threshold. Minimum order value is the line below which an app refuses the order or adds a small-cart fee. Some apps set a second, higher line for free delivery.
What Rewalto does not measure
Rewalto does not measure minimum order values. Apps show them inside a shopper's basket, which our readings of public product and category pages do not open, so we hold no dated threshold to quote.
Published 28 October 2026.