Cravings to Cart in 10 minutes- A critical analysis on the rise of Q-Commerce Industry in India
Imagine
you’re hosting a dinner party, and halfway through, you realize you’re out of
table salt. A few years ago, you might have rushed to a nearby store, but
today, you simply tap your phone, and within 10 minutes, a delivery person
hands you a packet of salt! This is the power of quick commerce (Q-commerce)
platforms — where ultra-fast deliveries of daily essentials take place in a B2C
model.
India’s
Q-commerce industry has seen a meteoric rise— growing from a mere $300 million
market in 2022 to being valued at > $7 billion in 2025. From groceries to
medicines; beauty products to last-minute gifts and even iPhones; consumers now
get their essentials in a jiffy. Thus, Q-Commerce platforms lie on three
pillars: speed, convenience, and reliability. But is this rapid expansion
sustainable? Where does it stand when compared with other countries? What
challenges lie ahead?
Origin of the Quick Commerce
Industry in India
The
concept of Q-commerce originated in China and the U.S. through companies like
JD Now and Gopuffits in late 2017 and were on a boom during the COVID-19
pandemic (2020-22). However, its Indian adaptation happened quite late— post
COVID. Grofers, FreshtoHome, Licious, Total, BigBasket were slowly gaining
their own customer base.
These
apps catered only to the needs of urban consumers in Tier-1 cities. They were:
a. either fed up of long queues and
limited discounts at their nearest BigBazaar stores
b. didn't want to wait for the 14 day
delivery period on any Amazon order
c. wanted instant delivery just like
instant fund transfers through UPI
Fast-forward
to 2022-25; you name a thing and a person would be awaiting at your doorstep
with your order. This is called HYPERLOCAL
DELIVERY. Aadit Palicha, co-founder of Zepto, one of India’s leading
Q-commerce players, stated in a podcast that, “The real problem we’re solving
is not just fast delivery but making impulse purchases convenient and
affordable.” Lastly, the success of Blinkit, Swiggy Instamart, and Zepto: the
Golden Trio in India — is due to their ‘dark store models’. Fig 1, is a data
extract from a consulting slide by McKinsey showing the overall global scenario
of this model.
Fig1. The Global Snapshot of the Q-Commerce Industry
The Dark Store Model— Backbone of
the Q-Commerce Industry
Unlike
traditional warehouses, dark stores are micro-warehouses that are strategically
placed within residential areas (radii frequency ~ 5kms ±). They operate like
mini supermarkets without walk-in customers. As claimed by the founders, each
dark store is optimized for maximum efficiency through:
1.
AI-driven inventory management:
in-demand products are always in stock.
2.
Geo-navigation assignment: Orders
are automatically assigned to the nearest available delivery person.
3.
Humanized Assembly Line: Pickers
inside the store collect items within minutes, often guided by digital screens
that map out the fastest routes through the aisles.
4.
Optimised Route Navigation: Orders
are handed over to riders waiting outside, who use optimized routes for
ultra-fast delivery.
What Can Be Marketed Through Quick
Commerce
Q-commerce
started with groceries but has rapidly expanded into new categories. The
extensive list as of 2025 includes —
1. Fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), personal care items, pet supplies,
household essentials, and even electronics are now part of the mix.
2. Blinkit offers laptop chargers and phone
accessories.
3. BigBasket + Tata 1mg has expanded
into 90-min pharmaceutical deliveries.
4. Gift items like cakes and flowers are also popular, with last-minute orders making
up a significant portion of transactions.
5. Zepto, the marketing genius, plans
to make car insurances a 10 min
procedure by partnering with Skoda Motors in January 2025.
6. Ready to eat and pre heated snacks and beverages with the likes of Zepto Cafe and
Swiggy Bristo!
7.
Ambulance Services — by Blinkit in
Gurugram, India.
8.
Luxury niche items (watches,
iPhones, Mac, Airpods,etc.)
Why Is There a Boom in Q-commerce?
While
there's no single factor or ‘problem statement’ that explains the need of this
business model; the outlining factors are stated as under:
1. Urbanization has led to higher disposable incomes and a preference for
convenience.
2. The average Indian consumer, pressed
for time, is willing to pay for speed
and accuracy.
3. The rise of cloud kitchens, ordering groceries and meat online and UPI payments
have further normalized the behavior of impulse
purchasing.
4. Logistics innovation: Unlike traditional e-commerce,
where warehouses are located outside cities, Q-commerce relies on dark stores.
5. Advanced AI and route optimization allow companies to promise
deliveries within 10-15 minutes, creating a habit-forming experience for customers.
6. Customer Retention incentives in the form of Super Savers and Redeemable Coupons/Coins.
Comparative Growth Progression of Q-commerce industry among the World’s 10 Largest Economies
A Report by McKinsey and Company points out some data related to the rapid growth of Q-commerce in different economies, with India showing the steepest rise among developing countries. The extracts of the data from the report is attached as under (Fig-2) :
● E-commerce surged globally with the UK growing 4.5 times and Spain 4.7 times, marking the highest
jumps in online sales.
● China and the US expanded steadily at 1.6 times and 3.3 times,
reflecting their already mature markets.
● India is catching up with 2.1 times growth, showing rapid digital adoption but
still trailing developed economies.
Fig 2. The growth rates of e-commerce (q) markets across the
world
Scalability and Profitability Strategies
To sustain growth, Q-commerce companies generally focus on multiple revenue streams beyond just delivery fees. They are:
1. Subscription models like Swiggy’s Instamart Pass (One)
offer discounts to frequent customers, similar to Gopuff’s membership program
in the U.S.
2. Private-label brands also improve margins—Zepto and Blinkit are increasingly
selling their own packaged snacks and household essentials.
3. Another key strategy is hyperlocal advertising. Brands pay
Q-commerce platforms for prominent placement in search results, a model that
has been successful for Amazon and Flipkart.
4. Additionally, they use AI-driven demand prediction that helps
in reducing inventory waste and optimize pricing.
5. Avenues to organic and home grown business (like handicrafts and even home cooked food delivery)
Challenges in the Quick Commerce Model
However, there are many downsides of this model. While Q-commerce players are expanding aggressively, many are burning investors’ money without clear profitability. Zepto and Blinkit are posting heavy losses YoY. This is as:
1. Heavy discounting and free delivery create unsustainable unit
economics. Even in the U.S., where Gopuff dominates, profitability has been a
challenge, forcing the company to restructure operations.
2. Competitive regulatory bodies in
India have raised concerns about deep discounting and predatory pricing.
3. Traditional retailers argue that Q-commerce disrupts neighborhood kirana
stores, which cannot compete with artificially low prices.
4. This is similar to Brazil, where retailers have protested against Rappi Turbo’s impact on small businesses.
Apart
from that there is a huge dissent among the consumers as well. They often raise
their concerns about:
1. Poor grievance redressal, incorrect
deliveries, and weight theft (a user on X, claimed that he received only 350 g
of strawberries while he placed order of 500gms!)
2. Customers often report receiving
fewer items than ordered, and complaints about rude delivery personnel have
increased (the Support button is
very numb and is ‘bot-handled’)
3. Some platforms lack proper refund
mechanisms, leading to frustration among users.
4. Shoddy pricing practices: iPhone users are charged more than Android
ones!
5.
Illegitimate and baseless deliver
and surge fee application.
Consumers should take legal action against such platforms for misleading pricing schemes and poor service.
The Bottom Line
To sum it up, Quick commerce is revolutionizing retail in India. The industry's success depends on its ability to balance rapid expansion while maintaining profitability and consumer trust. While convenience drives demand, concerns about sustainability, customer experience, and regulatory scrutiny must be addressed. If companies can optimize costs, expand strategically, and ensure better service quality, Q-commerce could redefine the future of retail—not just in India, but worldwide.
References:
● https://binmile.com/blog/quick-commerce-companies-and-business-model/
The
blog is written by SOHAM SEN and GOURAV PRADHAN, MCom, 1st Year students
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