Q-commerce

Q-commerce, also referred to as quick commerce, is a type of e-commerce where emphasis is on quick deliveries, typically in less than an hour.[1] Q-commerce originally started with food delivery and it still represents the largest chunk of the business. It has quickly expanded to other categories particularly for grocery delivery, medicines, gifts, and apparel.[2]

In early 2020, the restrictions imposed due to COVID-19 pandemic began to give a major boost to q-commerce as it allowed retailers to remain operational via quick home deliveries.[3] At the time, it was speculated that prolonged restrictions would result in a long-term consumer behavior shift towards quick deliveries, establishing q-commerce as "the third generation of commerce".[4] However, as pandemic restrictions began to lift and a burgeoning cost of living crisis made paying higher prices for rapid delivery less sustainable, demand for q-commerce in many parts of the world waned, causing businesses to downsize or fold altogether.

Companies in q-commerce include Amazon Now [5] Flipkart Minutes[6] Meituan, Gojek, Grab, Delivery Hero, PedidosYa, Glovo, BigBasket, Blinkit, Swiggy, Rappi, GoPuff, Instacart, JioMart, Zepto, Postmates,Chaldal, Flink and Dupizo.

## History

Rapid delivery of online purchases as a concept dates back to the late 1990s and early 2000s, with several dot-com companies springing up to promise rapid delivery in under one hour, although they tended to struggle with finding a sustainable business model.

One notable example was Kozmo.com, a venture capital-funded company promising free one-hour delivery of a range of items including videos, games, food, and other "basics", founded in 1998.[7] The company went out of business in 2001.[8] Other early examples include Urbanfetch, which delivered products by bike messenger in under an hour in parts of Manhattan and London, and Webvan, which delivered products to customers in the United States in a 30-minute window of their choosing.[9]

In 2013, Grofers started 90-minute delivery of groceries.[10][11]

Deliveries of necessities are intended to be provided as quickly as possible; they can occasionally arrive in a matter of minutes.[12] Initially, delivery time hovered around 60 minutes but by 2019 several companies started local warehouses (cloud stores or dark stores) to drive delivery times down below 20 minutes.[13]

## Global trends

The rapidly growing category offers a large selection of products at any time of day and in particular targets single-person households.[14] It is currently estimated that the q-commerce market is $300 million and is expected to grow 10 to 15 times over the next five years to touch $5 billion.[15]

In India, quick commerce saw increased adoption in 2023. Quick commerce orders made up about 40% to 50% of the country's online grocery expenditures in 2024.[16] With delivery times of less than ten minutes, q-commerce purchases in India also expanded to high-end goods, including the newly launched iPhone 16.[17] Orders on Instamart and Blinkit increased from ₹30,000 crore (US$4.2 billion) in 2024 to ₹64,000 crore (US$9.0 billion) in 2025.[18]

## References

1. ↑ "From e-commerce to q-commerce: The rise of the 30 minutes or less delivery" (in en). 31 January 2021. https://www.thenationalnews.com/uae/from-e-commerce-to-q-commerce-the-rise-of-the-30-minutes-or-less-delivery-1.1155255.
2. ↑ "'Q' is fastest growing category in UAE's e-commerce as delivery speed matters" (in en). https://gulfnews.com/business/retail/q-is-fastest-growing-category-in-uaes-e-commerce-as-delivery-speed-matters-1.1616148700802.
3. ↑ Keane, Jonathan. "Glovo Enters The Q-Commerce Race As On-Demand Delivery Market Intensifies" (in en). https://www.forbes.com/sites/jonathankeane/2020/11/12/glovo-enters-the-q-commerce-race-as-on-demand-delivery-market-intensifies/.
4. ↑ "Glovo enters EUR 100M strategic partnership with Stoneweg to expand Q-Commerce" (in ro). 20 January 2021. https://business-review.eu/news/glovo-enters-eur-100m-strategic-partnership-with-stoneweg-to-expand-q-commerce-216534.
5. ↑ "Amazon Now 10-minute delivery service is now available in more locations in India: All details". The Times of India. 2025-09-11. ISSN 0971-8257. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/technology/tech-news/amazon-now-10-minute-delivery-service-is-now-available-in-more-locations-all-details/articleshow/123832305.cms.
6. ↑ "Kabeer Biswas quits Flipkart Minutes, may join BigBasket next" (in en). 2025-10-27. https://www.financialexpress.com/business/industry-kabeer-biswas-quits-flipkart-minutes-may-join-bigbasket-next-4023263/.
7. ↑ "Kozmo.com Splash page". Kozmo.com. Archived from the original on 8 April 2000. https://web.archive.org/web/20000408214847/http://www.kozmo.com/. Retrieved 10 July 2010.
8. ↑ Kremer, Alexander (25 August 2021). "Europe's quick-commerce startups are overhyped: Lessons from China". TechCrunch. https://techcrunch.com/2021/08/25/europes-quick-commerce-startups-are-overhyped-lessons-from-china/.
9. ↑ Wiggers, Kyle (3 June 2022). "The delivery market is coming down from its pandemic highs". TechCrunch. https://techcrunch.com/2022/06/03/the-delivery-market-is-coming-down-from-its-pandemic-highs/.
10. ↑ Bhalla, Kritti (13 December 2021). "After giving up on 90-minute delivery five years ago due to lack of profitability, Grofers is now chasing 10-minute delivery | Business Insider India" (in en). https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/after-giving-up-on-90-minute-delivery-five-years-ago-due-to-lack-of-profitability-grofers-is-now-chasing-10-minute-delivery/articleshow/88253221.cms.
11. ↑ Shu, Catherine (27 February 2015). "Grofers, An On-Demand Delivery Service For Indian Cities, Raises $10M From Sequoia And Tiger Global" (in en-US). https://techcrunch.com/2015/02/26/grofers/.
12. ↑ "India Pioneering the Rise of Quick Commerce" (in en-US). 13 November 2024. https://www.dailyexcelsior.com/india-pioneering-the-rise-of-quick-commerce/.
13. ↑ "Talabat continues a q-commerce strategy with cloud kitchens" (in EN). 30 November 2020. https://www.caterermiddleeast.com/suppliers/85858-talabat-continues-q-commerce-strategy-with-cloud-kitchens.
14. ↑ "QUICK COMMERCE – THE NEXT GENERATION OF E-COMMERCE" (in EN). 28 April 2020. https://www.nickilange.com/journal/2020/4/28/quick-commerce-the-next-generation-of-e-commerce.
15. ↑ LogiBee. "5 Steps Towards Launching a Successful Q Commerce Business in 2022" (in en). https://logibee.ai/pages/5_Steps_Towards_Launching_a_Successful_Q_Commerce_Business_in_2022.html.
16. ↑ Sheth, Arpan; Unnikrishnan, Shyam; Bhasin, Manan; Raj, Abhishek (13 December 2023). "How India Shops Online 2023" (in en). https://www.bain.com/insights/how-india-shops-online-2023/.
17. ↑ Sharma, Rakshanda (2 October 2024). "Will iPhone 16 become a new milestone for India's quick commerce?". The Economic Times. https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/services/retail/will-iphone-16-become-a-new-milestone-for-indias-quick-commerce/articleshow/113870878.cms.
18. ↑ "Quick-commerce orders double to Rs 64,000 cr in FY25, to touch Rs 2 lakh cr by FY28: Report". The Economic Times. 10 July 2025. ISSN 0013-0389. https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/services/retail/quick-commerce-orders-double-to-rs-64000-cr-in-fy25-to-touch-rs-2-lakh-cr-by-fy28-report/articleshow/122362718.cms?from=mdr.

0.00

(0 votes)

Original source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Q-commerce. Read more

|

Retrieved from "https://handwiki.org/wiki/index.php?title=Finance:Q-commerce&oldid=4269590"