Service-offering platform Urban Company has become the latest entrant among the growing list of startups embracing the quick commerce trend. The Bengaluru-headquartered company launched “Insta Maids” service, offering customers a housekeeper for various chores like utensils cleaning, mopping, cooking preparation, etc within 15 minutes. Urban Company has launched the service in Mumbai only to test the waters, and if successful, it will be converted into a full-fledged service.
Quick commerce is a new shopping rage in India, with numerous startups promising rapid deliveries of products, ranging from groceries and food to electronics and coffee. With 50 quick commerce startups, India leads the global market, followed by the United States with 15 startups, and the United Kingdom with 13.
Quick commerce surges to dominate e-grocery market, accounting for 70-75% of orders: Report
A report by Chryseum, a Mumbai-based financial service firm, reveals that the quick commerce industry witnessed a sales surge of 280 percent over two years. India’s three big quick commerce players Zomato-owned Blinkit, Zepto, and Swiggy Instamart recorded a revenue of Rs 7,855 crore (approx) in fiscal year 2024.
Notably, major e-commerce players have entered the quick commerce fray, with Amazon piloting its offerings under ‘Tez’ label, and Flipkart launching ‘Minutes’ and Myntra has also started experimenting with apparel deliveries in 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, a new wave of smaller companies is emerging, aiming to master the 10-minute delivery game in the country.
Snabbit, a quick service provider bagged $5.5 million in a Series A funding in January, highlighting the growing investor interest in quick commerce space. Snabbit offers 15-minute services in categories like home cleaning, dishwashing, laundry, and kitchen preparations. Another quick commerce startup, called FirstClub, secured $8 million as part of its seed funding. The Bengaluru-based startup aims to build a member-only retail platform focused on premium products.
Slikk, a startup offering 60-minute clothes delivery, raised $300,000 in its pre-seed funding round. The company has left no stone unturned to capitalize on customers’ growing penchant for fast deliveries.
The quick commerce sector witnessed significant funding activity in 2024, with companies raising a total of $1.73 billion across 13 equity funding rounds, representing a 53.91 percent year-on-year increase.
Quick commerce remained a hot sector of investment during Q4 of 2024: KPMG
Initially, the quick delivery model revolutionized grocery shopping, and its next big target is food delivery, apart from apparel and home services.
In February, Gurugram-based food startup Zing introduced a guarantee: food orders would be delivered within 10 minutes, or customers would get a refund. Founded in 2024, the company claims to process 100 orders daily and aims to scale up to 100 kitchens within the next year.
Other startups, such as Waayu and Swish, have also pledged to deliver food within 15 minutes. Swish provides 10-minute food delivery services in select areas of Bengaluru. In contrast, Pune-based Waayu has adopted a different route, Offering food delivery through subscription-based model.
These new entrants are drawing lessons from established companies that have become integral to India’s tier-1 and tier-2 cities.
Swiggy has introduced Bolt and SNACC, while Blinkit has launched Bistro, both offering rapid food delivery services. Zepto Cafe is scaling up rapidly, hitting 75,000 daily orders.
Quick-comm industry sees sharp employment growth in 2024; Karnataka emerge as top-hub
According to Chryseum’s estimate, the quick commerce market is projected to grow from around $3.34 billion in 2024 to $9.95 billion by 2029. According to Karan Taurani, senior VP at Elara Securities, “Quick commerce platforms have benefitted from rising shopping frequency and extra commercial time post orders. The rush to onboard products by brands has led to higher ad commitments from lesser-known brands.
“The ad revenue rate ARR for three major quick commerce platforms surged to Rs 30-35 billion, half of Amazon India’s FY24 ad revenue (Rs 67 billion),” he added, “Of the total ad revenue shares, Blinkit’s shares is 45 percent, Zepto 35 percent and Instamart 20 percent, respectively”.