RISE OF THE QUICK BRIGADE

With its ability to deliver almost everything instantly, quick commerce is rapidly transforming India's retail landscape. As corporate giants like Reliance Jio, Flipkart and Amazon enter the space, fierce competition will ensure that the customer will be king

- SONAL KHETARPAL

IT is almost midnight. Thirtynine-year-old Pallavi Pareek, founder of Bengaluru-based gender laws advisory firm Ungender, realises she has run out of sanitary napkins as she prepares to go to bed. She picks up her smartphone, taps on a quick commerce app and places her order. Within 10 minutes, she has a packet on her doorstep. "Q-commerce is the backbone of my household," says Pallavi, who relies on these platforms for last-minute needs and daily groceries, over-the-counter medicines and even gifts.

What began as a solution for last-minute and impulse purchases has fast become a necessity, especially for professionals like Pallavi, forever pressed for time in their fast-paced lives in the metros. Q-commerce has become a way of life for people like her, allowing them to reclaim valuable hours, without having to worry about traffic or parking. Not to mention the convenience of getting almost anything - from a missing ingredient in a recipe to a hair dryer to an item of clothing - in a matter of 10-15 minutes. "It's like having a personal concierge," says Pallavi.

The market has grown more than 61 times since 2020 and is expected to expand further, as per retail consultancy Datum Intelligence. From $3.5 billion (Rs 29,635 crore) in 2023, it grew by 74 per cent to $6.1 billion (Rs 51,635 crore) in 2024 and is projected to reach a staggering $40.1 billion (Rs 3.39 lakh crore) by 2030. "This is a drastic shift in the Indian consumer market, known for its value-driven consumers," says Rajeev Singh, partner and consumer industry leader at consulting firm Deloitte Asia Pacific. "Especially among the affluent and middle-class families, convenience is taking over and they are willing to pay for it."

THE GAME CHANGERS