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Quick Commerce and the Changing Face of Retail in India: An Analysis Using Secondary Data
Subject area: Management and Commerce · Area of research: E-commerce
DOI: https://doi.org/10.64388/IREV9I9-1715182
Abstract
Over the last two decades, India’s retail sector has gone through changes that would have seemed impossible to the shopkeeper who once ruled every neighbourhood. First the kirana gave some ground to e-commerce, and now quick commerce has entered the story — a delivery model built around speed, promising groceries and daily items at the door in under thirty minutes. This paper examines how that model took root in India, how it actually works on the ground, what it has done to urban consumer behaviour, and whether any of it makes financial sense in the long run. The entire study uses secondary data — reports from consulting firms, research by industry bodies, and published business analyses. No surveys or interviews were conducted. The findings suggest that quick commerce has unmistakably changed how a large slice of urban India shops. However, profitability is still a genuine struggle, the recklessness built into extreme delivery targets caused a serious safety controversy, and the environmental costs of so many small, individual deliveries are starting to matter. Quick commerce will not push kiranas or traditional e-commerce aside any time soon, but it has staked out its own territory — and whether it can hold that territory long-term depends on operational discipline, responsible practices, and the ability to keep customers coming back for reasons other than a discount.
Keywords
Dark Stores, Hyperlocal Fulfilment, India Retail, Kirana Stores, Last-Mile Delivery, Q-Commerce, Quick Commerce, Urban Consumer Behaviour
How to cite this paper
@article{1715182,
author = {Anushka Agrawal, Dr. Hitesh Kesarwani},
title = {Quick Commerce and the Changing Face of Retail in India: An Analysis Using Secondary Data},
journal = {Iconic Research And Engineering Journals},
year = {2026},
volume = {9},
number = {9},
pages = {1127-1134},
issn = {2456-8880},
url = {https://www.irejournals.com/formatedpaper/1715182.pdf},
abstract = {Over the last two decades, India’s retail sector has gone through changes that would have seemed impossible to the shopkeeper who once ruled every neighbourhood. First the kirana gave some ground to e-commerce, and now quick commerce has entered the story — a delivery model built around speed, promising groceries and daily items at the door in under thirty minutes. This paper examines how that model took root in India, how it actually works on the ground, what it has done to urban consumer behaviour, and whether any of it makes financial sense in the long run. The entire study uses secondary data — reports from consulting firms, research by industry bodies, and published business analyses. No surveys or interviews were conducted. The findings suggest that quick commerce has unmistakably changed how a large slice of urban India shops. However, profitability is still a genuine struggle, the recklessness built into extreme delivery targets caused a serious safety controversy, and the environmental costs of so many small, individual deliveries are starting to matter. Quick commerce will not push kiranas or traditional e-commerce aside any time soon, but it has staked out its own territory — and whether it can hold that territory long-term depends on operational discipline, responsible practices, and the ability to keep customers coming back for reasons other than a discount.},
keywords = {Dark Stores, Hyperlocal Fulfilment, India Retail, Kirana Stores, Last-Mile Delivery, Q-Commerce, Quick Commerce, Urban Consumer Behaviour},
month = {March},
doi = {https://doi.org/10.64388/IREV9I9-1715182}
}