印度快速商业的演变：部门分析

A SECTORAL ANALYSIS Indian retail has undergone a dramatic shift over the past few years.Not too long ago, urban Indians stocked up on groceries and dailyessentials with weekly or monthly market trips. Today, manyhouseholds, with a few taps on a smartphone can order groceries,medicines or snacks at their doorstep within minutes. This changehas been driven by widespread internet and smartphone adoptionin India. The COVID-19 pandemic provided a huge boost: lockdownsand social distancing sharply curtailed store visits, pushingconsumers to try online shopping in masses. For example, one studyby the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIMAhmedabad) notes that online grocery purchases jumped 80% in2020, to about Rs. 23,951 crore (US$ 2.7 billion), as shoppers shunnedin-person shopping. At the same time, quick-commerce (Q-commerce) platforms emerged to satisfy newly urgent needs forinstant delivery. By focusing on speed and convenience, theseservices cemented a new normal in retail: ordering everyday itemsvia apps rather than making special trips. Indianquick commerce has grownexplosively. In 2022, the market was quitesmall, but just three years later, it reachedseveralbillion dollars in gross orders.According to India Briefing and Cornell SCJohnson reports, Q-commerce gross ordervalue in India grew to about Rs. 65,645.40c r o r e( US $7. 4 b i l l io n )b y F Y 2 5,representing roughly a 24-fold increasefrom2022.In practical terms,Q-commerce went from a niche experimentinto a major retail channel very quickly. Aspera report published by Bain&Company, Q-commerce orders made upabouttwo-thirds of all online groceryorders in India in 2024, and roughly 10%oftotal e-retail spending.Q-commerceplatforms have capitalised on the rapidlyexpandinge-commerce market,whichitselfis fuelled by rising incomes,affordable smartphones and easier onlinepayments. metro cities into tier-2 and tier-3 towns,aided by better logistics and increasinginternetpenetration.Urban consumersreportmuch higher adoption:beforequickcommerce,only about 33%offrequentshoppers preferred onlinechannels for daily needs, but that numberhassoared to 87%as instant deliverybecame available. In other words, almostall city shoppers now use online services(includingquick delivery)for regularitems, a dramatic shift from even a fewyears ago. Moreover, quick commerce isnot merely shifting sales among channels,itis increasing overall consumption.Accordingto Bain&Company andKearney analysis, among households usingQ-commerce, 6-8% of their purchases aretrulyincremental demand(not justreplacing what they bought elsewhere). Ineffect, the convenience of instant deliveryis inducing people to buy additional itemslike snacks, premium groceries or urgentsupplies that they might have skipped ordelayed otherwise. Several factors illustrate this growth trend.Q-commerce services now reach beyond approaches combining elements of these.Accordingto a study by the IndianInstituteof Management Ahmedabad(Ranjekar&Roy),an efficient quickcommerce operation typically involves alarge ‘mother’ warehouse plus a network ofmini-warehouses (dark stores) for rapidlast-mile delivery. Majorplayers in India’s quick-commerce space uBlinkit (formerly Grofers):One of theo lde s tpl a ye r s ,Bl i n k i t BUSINESSMODELS AND KEYPLAYERS pioneered India’s 10-minutegrocerydelivery.It wasacquired by Zomato in 2022forRs.5,038.73 crore(US$568million),reflecting itsstrong foothold. By early 2025, Blinkit was Quick-commerce firms in India operatewith varied business models, but all relyon a network of small fulfilment centres(often called ‘dark stores’) located close toc u s to me r s .D a r k s to r e s a r e t i n yneighbourhood warehouses dedicated toonline orders. These micro-warehouses letcompanies stock a curated set of items andpick orders rapidly for hyperlocal delivery.Forexample,big incumbents likeBigBaskethave introduced‘BigBasketDaily’ outlets that use this model, whilestartups like Zepto built their business ondozens of dark stores in each city. processing well over 100,000 orders perday, reporting Q1 FY25 revenue of aboutRs. 1,002.42 crore (US$ 113 million) (up2.4× YoY). It is estimated to hold roughly46% of India’s quick-commerce market asof 2024, making it the largest player. uZepto:A Mumbai-based startupfoundedin 2021,Zepto has grownexplosively.It operates more than 250dark stores across major cities, offeringaround45,000 stock- DifferentQ-commerce platforms usedifferent models to source goods and fulfilorders. Broadly, there are at least threecommon approaches: keeping units (SKUs) andpromising10-minutedelivery.Zepto claimsabout 29% market share •Inventory-led(warehouse)model:The company buys and stores products inl a r gewa r e hou s e s or m a n y s m a l lwarehouses.BigBasket Daily and someSwiggy/Instamart hubs follow this model.•Hyperlocalpartner model:Local as of 2024, raising over Rs. 8,871.00 crore(US$1 billion)in funding within 2022(peggingits valuation at Rs.44,355