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Use cases

How brands use Shelf.

15 situations, from a brand choosing the next app to sell on to an investor sizing a category. Find the one that sounds like you: each says what you open in Shelf, and what you leave with.

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Growing where you sell

A new app, or a new city.

01Entering a new app

You sell on one app and want to launch on another.

See the category on the app you are not on yet: how crowded it is, who is on the shelf, what they charge, and who shows up when shoppers search.

  1. MarketThe apps side by side, one app at a time: what was counted in your category on each.
  2. CategoriesHow crowded the category is on that app, who leads, the median price per 100 g, and how much the app’s own labels take.
  3. Head to headThe brands you would meet there, watched as rivals before you are on the app: their stores, their range and their prices.
  4. Search and AdsYour category’s searches on that app: which brands hold the first ten results, and which held the paid slots.
  5. StoresWhere that app’s dark stores are, city by city.
You leave with
A picture of the shelf you would be pitching into, and the cities and rivals to start with.

What each plan includes

Categories and the apps side by side: share of shelf, who leads, own labels

Free
Counts, the first 5 brands
Pro
Every brand ranked
The apps Shelf reads
Swiggy Instamart 2,051 212 brands
Zepto 1,098 113 brands
Blinkit 964 163 brands
BigBasket 626 74 brands
Flipkart Minutes 572 60 brands
Products listed in chocolates on each app, with the brands behind them. A count of what the shelves listed, not of sales, and never added across apps.

02Entering a new city

You are taking your brand to new cities.

See which apps have dark stores in a city, how many, and whether a rival is already on the shelf there.

  1. StoresEach app’s dark stores by city and by state, as counts, and each store as the 1 km square it is in.
  2. Where you are missingCity by city: the stores where a rival is on the shelf and you are not.
  3. Head to headWhere you and a rival are both listed, only you, only them, or neither.
You leave with
A list of cities in order: where the stores are, and where a rival is ahead of you.

What each plan includes

Cities, each counted city by city

Free
1 of your choice
Pro
Every city
Location intelligence

Dots show the dark stores, city by city. Red marks the cities where one dairy brand, name withheld, had a rival on the shelf in stores where it was not.

Launching

What to launch next, and what a rival sells.

03Choosing what to launch next

You run a brand and are choosing your next product or category.

See which categories have room on each app: real demand on a shelf no brand dominates, the price points nobody fills, and the brands already there.

  1. Product researchThe niche finder: every category on an app, how crowded its shelf is beside its signs of demand, the ones with room to enter first.
  2. Product researchOne category in depth: its brands, what sells by the app’s own marks, the price and pack ladders with their empty price points, and the cities where its shelf is thin.
  3. SearchThe keywords that name it: how crowded each one’s first 10 is, and where you rank on it today.
You leave with
A shortlist of categories with room, each with the price points still open and the brands already in it.

What each plan includes

Product research: niches to enter, a category in depth, a rival’s range against yours

Free
The first 10 categories
Pro
Every category, and every brand in it
Product intelligence

The rule, the same for every category

Share of its categories with room to enter

Swiggy Instamart 40%
BigBasket 38%
Blinkit 38%
Flipkart Minutes 17%
Our own filter, the same rule for every category: strong signs of demand on a shelf that is open or contested, or moderate signs on an open one. It compares a category with the others on the same app; it is not a forecast of sales.

04Researching a market before you enter it

You have no product yet and are deciding whether to enter a market.

Read a category the way an incumbent would: how many brands, how much the largest hold, what it costs per 100 g, what the app itself marks as selling, and where it is thin.

  1. Product researchEvery category with how crowded its shelf is and its signs of demand, and one category in depth with its price ladder and pack sizes.
  2. CategoriesAny category on each app: products, brands, how much the top three hold, who leads and the median price per 100 g.
  3. MarketThe apps side by side, so you know where a category is deep and where it is thin.
You leave with
A picture of the market you are thinking of entering.

What each plan includes

Product research: niches to enter, a category in depth, a rival’s range against yours

Free
The first 10 categories
Pro
Every category, and every brand in it
Product intelligence

4,091 products from 871 brands.

Who holds the shelf

The three largest brands 9.5% of its listings

868 more brands are on the shelf beside them.

What it costs, per 100 ml

The bar holds the middle 80% of the 2,172 products that state their size; the dot is the typical price.

Discount off MRP, middle product 20%

The pack sizes most of its products come in

100 ml 416 products, 214 brands
30 ml 222 products, 116 brands
1 piece 213 products, 92 brands
One category on one app. Listings and their prices, GST included, never sales.

05What a rival sells that you don’t

A rival keeps widening its range and you want to know where.

Set its range beside yours on each app: the categories it is in and you are not, the ones you share, and its products we first saw at the latest read.

  1. Product researchA rival’s range against yours, category by category, with its widest products and their price and reach.
  2. ProductsIts products beside yours on every app, with each one’s price and price per 100 g.
  3. Head to headThe two brands in one table, store counts and shelf share, one app at a time.
You leave with
The categories to look at next, ordered by how widely the rival already sells in them.

What each plan includes

Product research: niches to enter, a category in depth, a rival’s range against yours

Free
The first 10 categories
Pro
Every category, and every brand in it
Product intelligence
A drawing of one rival’s range beside yours on one app, category by category. The categories and the counts are made up.

Holding the shelf you have

Listings, stock and price.

06Getting listed in more stores

You are on an app, but not in every dark store.

Get the list of stores where a rival is on the shelf and you are not, ready to hand to the app’s category manager.

  1. Where you are missingThe count first, then the stores: each with its city and area, and the rival that is listed there.
  2. ReportOne page about your brand on one app, with how it was counted, made to print or to send.
  3. ExportsOn Pro: the same list as Excel or CSV, with a first sheet that says what was read and when.
You leave with
A store list a category manager can act on.

What each plan includes

The store list, with its map

Free
Not on this plan
Pro
Every city
What to bring to a category manager
  • Had this brand 2,489
  • Had a rival, not this brand 160
One dairy brand on Blinkit.

07Not listed, or out of stock

A product is missing from stores, and you do not know why.

Tell the two apart, store by store. A listing problem goes to the category manager. A stock problem goes to your supply team.

  1. AvailabilityFor the stores that list you: where a product was in stock at the read and where it was out, city by city.
  2. Where you are missingThe stores that do not list you at all while a rival is listed.
  3. ProductsEach product on one row with every app beside it: which apps carry it, and where it is running out.
You leave with
Two lists in place of one worry: stores to get listed in, and stores to refill.

What each plan includes

The store list, with its map

Free
Not on this plan
Pro
Every city
Not listed or out of stock?
Listed, and out of stock at the read 33,481 of 133,000 listings
Not listed, with a rival on the shelf 160 of 2,650 stores
One dairy brand on Blinkit. The first counts product-store listings, the second counts stores.

08Tracking a rival’s prices

A rival changes its price, and you hear about it late.

See your price beside a rival’s on every app, and get a message when a price you watch moves.

  1. PricesYour price and discount beside a rival’s, by app and by city, with what changed since the previous read.
  2. ProductsThe same pack on every app that lists it, with the price per 100 g.
  3. AlertsA message after a read in which a price you watch was cut or raised.
You leave with
The price moves that matter, without anyone checking each app by hand.

What each plan includes

Products: each app’s price, stock and price per 100 g, side by side

Free
Your brand and 1 rival
Pro
Any brand
Price intelligence
A drawing of one price board. The packs and the prices are made up.

Being found

09Seeing who is on your brand name

Shoppers search for your brand, and another brand shows up above you.

See the brands that held a paid slot when a shopper typed your name, and in how many cities.

  1. AdsOn your name: the brands that held a paid slot on searches for your brand name, city by city.
  2. AdsYour own ads: where your own paid slots appeared, and the cities where none was seen.
  3. SearchYour brand name, unpaid: which products come up, yours and others’, when a shopper types it.
You leave with
An answer to who else is on your name, to decide what to do about it.

What each plan includes

Your own search and ads: your rank, your share of search, who is on your name

Free
Your counts
Pro
You, every rival and every advertiser
Who holds the paid slots on your name?
A drawing of one results page, not real results. Rows marked Ad are paid slots. For one real dairy brand on Blinkit, 7 other brands held a paid slot on its name, one of them in 439 cities.

11Seeing a rival’s ads

You are deciding where to advertise, and want to know what a rival holds.

See the keywords and the cities where a rival held paid slots, and where a paid slot sits above your own place.

  1. AdsYour rivals: the keywords a rival held a paid slot on, the cities where it did, and the cities where it did not.
  2. AdsYour category: for each keyword, the brands that held the paid slots and how much of the first ten results was paid.
  3. SearchRank and paid slots together: the keywords where a paid slot sits above your unpaid place.
You leave with
A map of where a rival held paid slots, to set beside your own plan.

What each plan includes

A rival’s search and ads: its keywords, its paid slots and its cities

Free
Its totals
Pro
Every rival, in full
Ads intelligence
Blinkit 15%
Zepto 36%
Swiggy Instamart 11%
BigBasket 4%
Flipkart Minutes 16%
JioMart 19%
The share of all result slots each app marked as paid.

Running the week

The review, without building it by hand.

12The weekly review

You report on quick commerce every week, and you build the report by hand.

Start from a short list of what moved, and forward it as it is.

  1. BriefingAfter each read, a short list of what to act on, most serious first. Each line starts with its count and says what it is out of.
  2. What changedThe price moves, stockouts and lost listings we saw since the previous read, for the brands you watch.
  3. Alerts and ExportsThe same lines by email, Slack or your own webhook, and on Pro any table as Excel or CSV.
You leave with
A review that starts from what moved, with how it was counted.

What each plan includes

Alerts when a price, a stock state or a listing changes

Free
Email
Pro
Email, Slack, your own webhook. WhatsApp is not live yet
Alerts, webhooks and files
  1. 160

    of 2,650 stores on Blinkit had a rival on the shelf and not you.

  2. 7

    other brands held a paid slot on your name, one of them in 439 cities.

  3. #3

    of 438 brands on dairy, bread and eggs searches.

One dairy brand on Blinkit.

Studying the market

For investors, analysts and researchers.

13Sizing a category

You study a category, and do not sell in it.

See how crowded a category is on each app, who leads it, what it costs and how much the app’s own labels take, one app at a time.

  1. MarketThe apps side by side: what was counted on each. Nothing is added across apps, because their shelves and store counts differ.
  2. CategoriesFor any category: products, brands, how much the top three hold, who leads, the median price per 100 g and the own-label share.
  3. ExportsOn Pro: any table as a file whose first sheet says which read it is and how each column is counted.
You leave with
A picture of a category on each app.

What each plan includes

Categories and the apps side by side: share of shelf, who leads, own labels

Free
Counts, the first 5 brands
Pro
Every brand ranked
For investors and researchers
Skin care 1,019 brands
Medicines 818 brands
Supplements and protein 584 brands
Hair care 568 brands
Home appliances 539 brands
Party and festive 475 brands
A brand is counted once in a category, on however many apps it was listed. A count of what the shelves listed, not of what sold.

14Looking at a brand from outside

You are assessing a brand you do not run: an investment, a partnership, a story.

Follow the brand and read it the way its own team would: where it is listed, what it charges, where it ranks, and which brands hold the paid slots around it.

  1. StoresWhere the brand is on the shelf across India, by state and by city, and in which kinds of store.
  2. Products and PricesIts range on every app, with each product’s price and price per 100 g, beside the brands it competes with.
  3. Search and AdsIts place in the unpaid results, and the brands that held a paid slot on its name.
  4. Head to headThe brand and the brands beside it in one table, one app at a time.
You leave with
An outside view of a brand, app by app.

What each plan includes

Rivals watched at once

Free
1
Pro
Every brand in your categories
For investors and researchers
  1. 2,489

    of 2,650 stores on Blinkit had it on the shelf.

  2. #3

    of 438 brands on dairy, bread and eggs searches.

  3. 7

    other brands held a paid slot on its name, one of them in 439 cities.

One dairy brand on Blinkit.

15Quoting a figure

You want to put a figure in a note, a paper or an article.

Quote a figure with the rule it was counted by, and a source line to copy.

  1. MarketEach count beside its base. A figure that was withheld is a hatched cell (drawn with stripes) with its reason, not a zero.
  2. StoresA source line under the table that you copy whole: what was counted, on which app, and out of how many stores.
  3. ExportsOn Pro: a file whose first sheet says which read it is and how each column is counted.
You leave with
A figure a reader can check, with its source line.

What each plan includes

Excel and CSV of any table

Free
Not on this plan
Pro
Up to 300,000 rows a month
How we read the apps

1,019brands were on the shelf in skin care.

Out of
the dark store shelves of Blinkit, Zepto, Swiggy Instamart, Flipkart Minutes and BigBasket, store by store
Rule
A brand is counted once in a category, on however many apps it was listed.
Source lineSource: Shelf (seetheshelf.com). Brands on the shelf in skin care on Blinkit, Zepto, Swiggy Instamart, Flipkart Minutes and BigBasket, the dark store shelves of Blinkit, Zepto, Swiggy Instamart, Flipkart Minutes and BigBasket, store by store. A count of what the shelves listed, not of sales.

NewRead daily

Every store of 22 apps, read every day.

Every store on the apps we read is read again every day, and every read is kept. So each product has a history in each store: when it sold out, how long it stayed out, how fast its stock runs down, and where that keeps happening. In your target cities, we read every hour.

  • Demand, store by storeWhich products sell out first in each store and each area, and how fast their stock runs down.
  • Stock-outs, timedWhen a product ran out at which store, how long it stayed out, and when it came back.
  • Patterns over daysThe stores, areas and days where a product runs out again and again.
  • Hourly, where it mattersIn your target cities, a read every hour: what runs out by evening, and where.
  • ProEvery day, and every hour in your target cities once set up
  • FreeEvery week
Ask for hourly readsSee what daily reads show

Hourly reads are set up with a person, for the target cities you name. We reply within one working day.Compare the plans

Product9 am1 pm6 pm10 pm
A pack of chipsIn stockIn stockLowOut of stock
Curd, 400 gIn stockLowOut of stockIn stock
An ice cream tubIn stockIn stockIn stockLow
A protein barOut of stockIn stockIn stockIn stock
A drawing of one dark store read through one day, not a real store. Every read is dated.

What teams do with it

  • Send the morning listEvery morning, the stores where your best sellers ran out yesterday, ready to send to the distributor.
  • Find where demand isThe areas where your products sell out fastest: where to push stock, sampling and ads first.
  • Fix the forecastShow the app’s category manager the stores that run dry by evening, day after day.
  • Move when a rival runs outSee the stores where your rival’s product is out, the day it happens, and be there.
  • Watch a launchA new product’s first days, store by store: listed, selling down, refilled or not.
  • Track a sale dayHourly through a sale or a festival: what runs out, where, and how soon it comes back.

You look after several brands.

Many brands under one account, white-label exports, a DPA. From ₹54,999 a month, by conversation.

Talk to us about Agency

Your use is not on this page.

Tell us what you are trying to find out. We will answer, on your own brand, before you pay.

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Questions about using it

Do I have to be selling on an app to research it?

No. The category, the brands on its shelf, its searches and the paid slots on them are all there whether or not your brand is on that app yet. You watch the brands you would compete with as rivals.

Does one plan cover all of these?

Pro opens every one of them in full, and each use case on this page shows what Free includes beside it. Starting is free, with a brand or without one.

Do any of these need my seller login or ad account?

No. Every app is read independently, store by store. You give an email address to sign in, and nothing else.

Can it tell me how much a category sells on an app?

No. It shows the shelf, search and paid slots: what is listed, at what price, in how many stores, and who is found. Units sold are the app’s own numbers and nobody outside sees them.

Can it tell me what a rival spends on ads?

No. It shows where a rival’s paid slots appeared: on which keywords, in which cities and where on the page. What a slot cost, its bid, its clicks and its return are in the rival’s own ad account.

On which apps does it list the stores where I am missing?

On Blinkit and BigBasket: store by store, each with the rival that is on the shelf there. On the other apps it shows where each of your products is listed, and a rival’s beside it.

May I quote a figure in a note or an article?

Yes, with attribution to Shelf. Republishing the data in bulk, or reselling it, needs a written agreement.

My use is not on this page. Can I still ask?

Yes. Tell us what you are trying to find out and we will answer, on your own brand. There is a box in the product at every step, and the talk page is open to anyone.

See the shelf, every day.

Every store read every day. Pick a category and see who leads it, what sells out, who ranks in its searches and who pays for its ads. Free.

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