Q-comm run presses on as more jump on bandwagon

The landscape of Indian retail and service delivery is undergoing a significant transformation, with quick commerce (q-commerce) emerging as one of the most defining trends of the decade. From groceries to gadgets and now services, the Indian consumer has increasingly come to expect instant gratification, and companies, both established and emerging, are racing to meet this expectation. Despite formidable operational and economic challenges, the strengthening of this consumer habit is driving the aggressive expansion of quick commerce in the country as is evident from Urban Company's decision to jump into this race. India’s largest home-services provider is now doubling down on its quick delivery model.

Urban Company, which made a stellar trading debut on Wednesday after launching India's most sought-after IPO of the year, has traditionally been a platform where users booked services like salon appointments or plumbing repairs in advance. But the company is now pivoting towards delivering services within an hour, marking a major evolution in its business model. The launch of "Insta Help", a new feature that lets users book domestic workers within 15 minutes, is a strategic move aimed at tapping into the emerging demand for on-demand, real-time services. As CEO Abhiraj Singh Bhal told Reuters, “Given the frequency and relevance to the average Indian middle-class household, instant services are a category that will become very important.” He added that this could create a strategic moat and become a key engagement driver.

Also Read: Urban Company plans big bet on instant home services


Despite its potential, q-commerce isn’t a plug-and-play model. Experts are cautious about the economics and logistics involved, more so in case of Urban Company which operates in a sector where logistics is the key. Yet, the scope is big. "Once they figure out the economics (of instant services), this can actually become the next big thing," Elara Capital analyst Karan Taurani told Reuters.

From cookies to chapatis: FMCG’s q-commerce play

Beyond services, fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies are also actively reshaping their business models to suit quick commerce. ITC Foods, for instance, is making a strategic entry into fresh packaged foods such as cookies, cakes and chapatis designed specifically for short shelf lives and hyper-local distribution. Hemant Malik, CEO of ITC’s food division, has told ET recently that this is part of a broader effort to align with India’s growing appetite for convenience-led, fresh food.

To support this, ITC has developed a hyper-local production model to enable next-day deliveries from "oven to doorstep", a stark departure from traditional models where food products had shelf lives of up to two years.

They are not alone. Major players like Hindustan Unilever, Marico, Adani Wilmar, and Parle have also formed dedicated quick commerce teams, focusing on faster stocking cycles and product portfolios designed specifically for this new channel.

Tech giants are also eyeing a bigger piece of the action. Amazon has expanded its Amazon Now quick commerce service to Mumbai, after previous rollouts in Bengaluru and Delhi. This brings it into direct competition with existing players like Blinkit (owned by Zomato), Swiggy Instamart, Zepto, and new entrants such as BigBasket (Tata Digital), Flipkart Minutes, and JioMart (Reliance).

These companies are building extensive dark store networks, integrating last-mile delivery capabilities, and employing AI-driven demand forecasting to meet customer expectations of 10- to 30-minute deliveries.

What is driving the rush?

FOMO (fear of missing out) is an important factor in pushing more and more companies to try quick commerce in one way or the other. Once a few major players such as Zepto and Blinkit proved consumer willingness to pay for speed, others had to follow. This FOMO has created a bandwagon effect. In FY25, quick commerce sales led by Blinkit, Swiggy Instamart, Zepto and BigBasket have grown at 50-100% year-on-year for most of the large FMCG companies, ET reported in May. Quick commerce has become the fastest-growing channel for consumer goods manufacturers for the past two fiscal years led by the top seven to eight cities. Quick commerce has been gaining share in the top eight to 10 cities at the cost of general trade and modern retail, according to companies and the latest data from researcher NielsenIQ. And yet quick commerce contribution to overall sales of these companies is still a modest 2-4% for most large companies, ET reported based on company disclosures. This points at huge scope of growth despite various roadblocks.

Indian consumers, especially in metros and Tier-1 cities, are shifting from value-seeking to convenience-seeking. Urban lifestyles, rising disposable income, and the influence of digital-first platforms have created a new normal: instant gratification. For FMCG brands, this means traditional retail and even general e-commerce are no longer enough. They must be available immediately, or risk losing relevance with a new generation of consumers.

But quick commerce isn't easy. Despite the hype, quick commerce faces significant operational and profitability challenges such as high logistics cost. Most platforms rely heavily on promotions and discounts. Loyalty is hard to build in a space driven by convenience. Stocking the right products in the right quantities, across multiple micro-warehouses, is a massive logistical puzzle. Few players are profitable. Even giants like Swiggy and Zomato face pressure to show long-term viability of their q-commerce bets.

Yet, companies continue to enter because they want to place strategic bets on the future. Quick commerce may not be profitable today, but many companies are betting it will become essential in the long-term. Once scale is achieved, operating costs can reduce via automation, better routing and optimised dark store placement. Moreover, those who establish brand presence and logistics infrastructure now will have a lasting edge when the market matures.

The surge of interest in quick commerce is a reaction to a new consumer habit of convenience which has started hardening. The habit of instant delivery, once considered a luxury, is now a norm in many urban areas. Companies showing interest in quick commerce are also betting on the future of Indian retail.

But DMart is betting against quick commerce

One big retailer is betting against quick commerce. Even as competition heats up and quick commerce eats up its market share, the one thing DMart doesn’t want to give up on is building physical stores. So much so that DMart expanded from 234 stores in FY21 to 429 as of August 2025, ET has reported. Accelerating store additions has become the utmost priority for the company, especially in North India and UP clusters where DMart is under-indexed.

DMart believes that the competition from New Age players exists only in the urban areas and sees its greatest opportunity in semi-urban or rural areas. In metros, consumers are increasingly taking to ordering online, but in smaller towns and cities, supermarkets are more of a family outing. So, the format cannot become obsolete.

“One of the best ways to counter quick commerce is not actually digital, but to have more DMart stores. Because from a value proposition, we have an amazing positioning,” Neville Noronha, DMart's outgoing CEO and managing director, has told ET in a recent interview.