Quick Commerce: What Is Quick Commerce? Explore the Examples
Do you ever want to shop for groceries or essential household items within just a few minutes? Waiting for one or more hours or even more than one day for online orders can cause frustration. What if there are alternative ways to get those items delivered within just a few minutes?
E-commerce makes us bored sometimes due to its slow delivery options in times of urgency. This issue leads customers to search for other alternative options or shopping solutions that offer faster and more convenient delivery features.
Don’t worry! Quick commerce or Q-commerce is that one-stop solution for all those inconveniences. This modern model of e-commerce mainly focuses on super-fast deliveries, especially hyperlocal deliveries, that only take 15 to 30 minutes.
Businesses such as BlinkIt, Swiggy Instamart, Zepto, BigBasket, and more are the biggest names in this rapidly growing e-commerce industry.
In this blog post, I will discuss what is Quick Commerce along with its key features and popular examples. I will also elaborate on how quick commerce is different from traditional ecommerce below.
Let’s dive into quick commerce and match up with the changing shopping experience.
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Table of Contents
What Is Quick Commerce?
The next major trend in online shopping is referred to as quick commerce or Q-commerce. Delivering products or essentials to customers instantly, usually within 10 to 30 minutes, is its major focus. Q-commerce is developed for higher convenience and speed, unlike traditional e-commerce, which can take a few hours or even a few days.
Local warehouses, commonly known as ‘Dark Shops,’ are small storage places situated next to customers so that they can get their products faster. Delivery applications allow the fastest delivery of essential items such as groceries and medications. Instances of businesses providing fast commerce services are Swiggy Instamart, BlinkIt, and Zepto.
This modern shopping business model is quickly growing as it satisfies the demands of busy customers and saves their valuable time. Online shopping is fast and more convenient due to the availability of quick commerce.
Key Characteristics of Quick Commerce
Some key aspects of quick commerce fulfill the demands of modern-day customers and help businesses gain popularity and reputation.
Speed of Delivery: The major characteristic of quick commerce is to supply products or essentials as fast as possible. Most of the orders are delivered between 10 and 30 minutes. This higher speed can be obtained by using easy delivery networks and nearby stores. Customers are not forced to wait long for their online orders as it focus on urgent and instant essentials.
Product Range: Quick commerce delivers a range of goods, such as medical or food essentials. These consist of daily-use products, groceries, snacks, art supplies, home decor, and medications. Often, essential items are given importance over a huge collection. Quick shipping and speedy availability are ensured by specialized assortment.
Order Tracking: Real-time order tracking is also there with Quick Commerce. Every step, from product packing to delivery to doorstep, is tracked by customers. This transparency boots reliability and ensures that users remain updated about the status of their online orders.
Micro-fulfilment Facilities: Another major characteristic of Quick Commerce is that it offers micro-fulfilment facilities. Such fulfillment facilities are small, hyperlocal storage hubs that are vital factors to quick commerce. These are located near the locations of targeted users or customers. Popular and demising products are stored in storage hubs so that orders can be packed quickly and shipped out fast to the delivery address of the customers.
Convenience: This is another major characteristic of Quick Commerce. Within just a few minutes, such as 10 to 30 minutes, clients can place their needed essentials using their smartphones and have the items delivered right to their doorstep. Long waiting times or shopping trips are no longer needed nowadays.
Technological Integration: Another essential characteristic of Quick Commerce is its integration with new and advanced technology. The technology ensures accuracy and speed in everything from route management and AI-powered inventory management. Applications and platforms provide user-intuitive interfaces so that customers can place their orders easily.
Localized Operations: This characteristic is also vital in quick commerce as serving customers of neighborhoods or localized areas is highly essential. If businesses operate locally, they can guarantee quick delivery and higher stock availability depending on the demands and product needs of that targeted locality.
Fee Structure: Fee structures are a little more convenient in quick commerce as compared to traditional commerce options. For small orders, many of the platforms offer minimal shipping charges or even free delivery. This special feature encourages customers to use those quick commerce platforms very often.
Small-cart Sizes: Smaller cart sizes are also assisted by quick commerce. Customers can shop only for the products they need, like a packet of snacks or tea bags. It is just highly recommended for urgent essentials as there is no requirement to purchase in large volumes.
Ease of Accessibility: Applications or platforms for quick commerce are easy, simple, and user-intuitive. As they are highly integrated with smart devices, customers can order and get their deliveries real quickly whenever and wherever they need. The specific service of commerce is highly recommended for all age groups just because of its easy accessibility.
Hyperlocal Focus: Quick commerce prioritizes hyper localities. Comprehending the preferences and choices of consumers is made simpler with this hyperlocal business strategy. Along with that, it ensures swift deliveries that are tailored to match the requirements of the community.
Mobile-first Experience: Another special characteristic of Quick Commerce is its mobile-first approach. The applications are user-intuituve and offer hassle-free as well as smooth shopping exposure. Customers can browse a range of products with just a few clicks and order the essentials, along with tracking their orders conveniently.
Role of Quick Commerce in Last-Minute Delivery
Quick commerce is rising these days and plays a major role when it comes to last-mile delivery. Below, I have stated the significant role of modern commerce in fulfilling the need for fast deliveries and boosting customer satisfaction.
On-demand Services: For urgent demand of essentials, Quick Commerce provides facilities like on-demand service. Customers can proceed with orders for daily essentials, snacks, groceries, and medications as required. It provides reliable and fast service while fulfilling last-minute demands and necessities. Because of its flexible nature, it is just right for busy, modern-day customers.
Super-fast Deliveries: Delivering essentials within 10 to 30 minutes is the major focus of quick commerce. Users of such applications of quick commerce are promised to get what they require right away. Whether it is a loaf of bread, an urgent medication, or a missed ingredient of a recipe, this fast delivery helps easily manage last-minute challenges.
Delivery reach expansion: Quick commerce helps boost the reach of delivery networks. Even in tiny localities or neighborhoods, last-mile deliveries are easier because of its focus on hyperlocal business operations. This helps in fast yet successfully fulfilling the demands of customers.
Better customer experience: Customer happiness is boosted by the rise of quick commerce a highly reliable and secure services. Fast delivery and real-time order tracking improved the credibility and customer trust. It ensures that the demands of customers are addressed successfully and taken care of, particularly for urgent demands.
24-hour Operation: Many locations for quick commerce are offering services 24 hours. This allows customers to place orders whenever they need products, such as late-night orders. Exceptional speed and accessibility are offered, especially for last-mile orders made out of regular business timings.
Difference Between Quick Commerce vs E-Commerce
There are many features that differentiate quick commerce from traditional e-commerce. You must get an understanding of those features to fulfill the urgent demands of your customers and drive business growth.
Operational Model: Quick commerce employs a hyperlocal business approach as an operational model. It stocks essential and highly demanding products in small, local hubs. To offer the assurance of fast speed, deliveries are executed directly from these local hubs. E-commerce takes the benefit of a centralised store and a larger supply chain network. It focuses on higher scalability over speed when shipping products over various cities, states, or even different continents.
Delivery speed: Essential products are delivered using Quick Commerce within just ten to thirty minutes. It is offered to fulfill urgent needs such as daily essentials such as a loaf of bread, a missed ingredient in a recipe, or prescribed food or drugs.
E-commerce also takes more than one hour to even days to deliver the items to customers, whether they are urgent. In e-commerce, the distance between the hub and the customer’s address and the shipping process influence the speed of delivery.
Range of Products: Quick commerce helps a business to sell a limited collection of products, focusing on essentials such as snacks, art supplies, medicines, bath essentials, food, and daily necessities. Speed is more essential to it than product diversity. A huge collection of product categories is offered through the e-commerce platform such as clothing, mobile devices, kitchen ingredients, home decor, and more. It fits a range of casual shopping requirements.
Target Market: On-the-go customers consumers who require goods fast are the goal of rapid commerce. It caters to people who appreciate speed and convenience. Customers from abroad and in rural areas are among the wider population that e-commerce caters to. People who are willing to wait for delivery and seek variety are catered to by it.
Integration of Advanced Technology: AI-integrated technologies such as real-time order tracking and route optimization are essential in quick commerce. For speedy delivery and service effectivity, it makes utilisation of advanced systems. However, it focuses on more large-scale inventory management and logistics; e-commerce is also integrated with advanced technology.
Customer Experience: For fast deliveries, quick commerce offers an easy and fast shopping experience. Its real-time tracking assures transparency in shipping and delivering products. E-commerce provides ease of access and convenience in product selection rather than faster speed, but it lacks the essentiality of fast businesses.
Business Model: Quick commerce heavily depends on common, small cart orders with lower or no delivery charges. It mainly focuses on daily essentials such as food, snacks, medicines, home management, and more. On the other hand, e-commerce permits huge amounts of orders and often fosters loyalty using subscription and membership facilities like Amazon Prime and Zomato Gold.
Inventory Management: Micro-fulfillment hubs that are filled with in-demand essentials are employed by Quick Commerce. This enables fast shipping and packing. Spacious, centralized hubs that pile a wider range of products but can take longer to deliver orders are necessary for e-commerce.
Difference Between Quick Commerce vs E-Commerce
I have tried to highlight some quick commerce examples here and mention why each of them is popular, having their different quick commerce features.
Let’s have a look!
Blickit, formerly known as Grofers, is one of India’s leading and popular quick commerce platforms. It offers extremely fast delivery within 10 to 35 minutes, delivering groceries, food items, snacks, and everyday essentials. To keep its items reach and capture the attention of targeted users, Blinkit leverages nearby dark hubs or warehouses. This Quick commerce platform provides real-time order and shipment tracking and easy as well as fast buying sessions. It is the most frequent choice for last-minute needs in locations due to its focus on convenience and speed.
This is another on-demand grocery shopping platform following a quick commerce approach. This leading food delivery platform provides customers with a huge collection of stored products and fast deliveries with real-time tracking. This quick commerce platform promises its customers a delivery within 15 to 30 minutes. It is widely used among busy professionals or people on the go and is popular due to its little or no delivery charges.
Zepto is another fastest-emerging grocery platform having a headquarters situated in Mumbai. This platform is currently operating in more than ten cities in India and offers fast delivery of more than 5000 essentials, including fresh vegetables, groceries, fruits, home essentials, medical supplies, office and art supplies, and more! It delivers products to the doorstep of customers within just 10 minutes. It also newly launched its cafe offering, introducing coffee and tea items to coffee and tea lovers along with their everyday essentials.
Wrapping Up,
Quick commerce is becoming the shopping face of modern generations as people lead a busy and sedentary lifestyle. This specific type of commerce is highly focused on hyperlocal commerce and creating a huge buzz. This is the most convenient option considered by customers in recent times as there is a huge demand for instant need fulfilment.
Hoping, I have elaborated on the topic of quick commerce clearly by stating the examples of quick commerce in the above sections. I have also made a comparison between quick commerce and ecommerce to clear your doubts regarding the most convenient one.
So, fulfill the demands of your customers using QuickCommerce options. With the advanced Digital Marketing Course of W3 Web School, you can clear your doubts regarding quick commerce strategies and boost your customer experience in 2025.
Happy reading.
