Quick commerce (QC) companies have become popular among consumers in India, especially in urban areas. While these platforms have found good product market fit in metros and large cities, they are now gradually expanding their presence in smaller cities and towns in a calibrated manner.
Currently, three major quick delivery platforms, namely Zomato's Blinkit, Swiggy's Instamart and Zepto, are competing with each other. These platforms started with grocery deliveries and soon expanded their total addressable market by entering into newer categories.
According to industry experts, population density and the high prevalence of unorganised retail or local Kirana stores enable QC companies to exercise relative buying power with scale, along with cheap labour costs. This has led to their success in India. GenZs and millennials have started ordering everyday needs across product categories via online apps, which are delivered within minutes.
"This shift will drive frequencies, average order value (AOV), and contribution margin. Overall, the value proposition hinges on both convenience and value which is driving more clicks and wallet share gain," according to a report by Emkay Global Financial Services.
Blinkit has sustained industry-leading AOV on the back of higher SKU (stock-keeping unit) availability, order fulfilment rates, better customer insights, and superior execution, which also aided profitability.
According to the latest Goldman Sachs report, Blinkit has become more valuable than Zomato's core food delivery business. Another report by market intelligence firm Redseer said the quick commerce market in India grew at 77 per cent (year-on-year) to reach $2.8 billion in gross merchandise value (GMV) last year.
Meanwhile, Deepinder Goyal, the co-founder and CEO of Zomato, has introduced India's first crowd-supported weather infrastructure called 'Weather Reunion'. This infrastructure will provide real-time information about local weather conditions, including temperature, wind speed, humidity, rainfall, and more.
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Inputs from IANS
