Redseer Consulting released a report recently according to which Quick Commerce, that is goods delivered to customers in 45 mins over a nominal delivery fee could grow 10-15 times in the next 5 years to take the projected business opportunity to Rs. 35,000 Crores pa even as Indian consumers in metros prefer to order online over an App and expect the product to be at their doorstep in the shortest instance.
With WFH becoming more a norm than otherwise, convenience (of shopping) mundane household items such as a face wash or a bathroom cleaner, branded snacks and staples from retail chains taking over an added fee for delivery, the “Quick Commerce” opportunity is indeed intriguing for e-commerce enablers such as Grofers & Big Basket who have been riding high due to the incessant lockdowns since Apr. ‘21. Even as more and more customers avoid physical shopping due to a fear of contracting the Coronavirus, as well as using the “time saved” watching OTTs, playing online Music and of course, spending time with family and self, start-ups and grown-ups are leaving no stone unturned to amass as much as they can from this opportunity.
It is yet another thing that the neighbourhood kirana shops have been doing this for many decades now. Just that they lacked an interface – such as an App or a web portal to showcase the products. Now, many IT services have come up with SaaS products to cater to the needs of the Kiranas, thereby supporting them to reach customers through a platform, where the customers can choose what they want to buy – without any intrusion or prodding by the shopkeeper and most importantly at a time that’s most convenient to the shopper – while eating breakfast or before going to bed and any time in between all day. The recent one in the fray is Grofers, who’s Founder Albinder Dhindsa tweeted thus.
Redseer suggests that the addressable market for Q-Commerce is around 20 million households across India, perhaps indicating the top 20 cities as well as those who have reverse migrated to their hometowns, with a choice of working remotely. Many of these customers may not return for a long time to bigger cities as they get used to the relaxed environs of the smaller towns who bring their own charm, yet are upping the ante while compared to the Metro cities. Needless to say, the Millennials and the Gen-Z are the immediate, low hanging opportunity for firms focussing on this market. Commenting on the launch of the report, Mukesh Kumar, engagement manager at RedSeer, said, “Quick Commerce is emerging as one of the fastest growing e-commerce models serving the need for faster delivery among convenience seeking customers. With high fill-rates and 30-45 mins delivery service for unplanned orders, mid-to high income households in Metros are increasingly replacing traditional kiranas with Quick Commerce Platforms like Swiggy’s Instamart and Dunzo.”
