Quick commerce players face delivery hurdles as smog discourages workers, cuts down on manpower

Delivery companies across quick commerce, ecommerce and food delivery platforms in north India, especially in Delhi-NCR are grappling with the twin challenges of a surge in orders and manpower shortage as fewer workers are willing to venture outdoors due to thick smog and worsening pollution levels.

Many schools have shifted classes online while offices have implemented work-from-home arrangements due to pollution. Consequently, consumers are increasingly opting for online orders to reduce the need to step outside. "Earlier, I used to deliver 30-35 orders a day, but now it's gone up to 45-50," said a delivery partner working at Zepto. At night, deliveries take 5 to 10 minutes longer than usual because of the smog, he added.

Amazon has distributed N95 masks to protect against smog and is urging its service partners to provide them to their employees as well.