Concerns revolving around traditional retailers are taking the centerstage, with the quick delivery ecosystem gaining growth and momentum
Driven by close access to a network of low-rent dark stores, India’s unique structural advantages, including high population density, the quick delivery ecosystem is changing how consumers buy in India, with over two-thirds of all e-grocery orders and a tenth of overall e-retail dollars spent on the quick commerce platforms in 2024.
While one aspect of quick commerce’s rise gives impetus to growth, its impact on traditional trade channels has raised concerns. Retail industry bodies have been doubling down in their attacks on the emergence of 10-minute delivery models, citing that these are raising concerns about the future of ethical business practices, workforce welfare and the survival of India’s traditional retail ecosystem.
“The obsession with 10-minute delivery in the name of convenience is just unnecessary and inhumane. India does not need this model of quick commerce that prioritises speed over the mental and physical well-being of workers. India does not need 10-minute deliveries when it already has a time-tested, efficient and deeply rooted network of neighbourhood retail stores that have faithfully served communities for decades,” said Praveen Khandelwal, Secretary General of the Confederation of All India Traders (Cait).
The Rise And Rise Of Quick Commerce
Growing from USD 1.5 billion in gross merchandise value (GMV) in 2022, the Indian quick commerce GMV rose to USD 6-7 billion in 2024, as per a report by Bain and Company-Flipkart report. Driven by expansion across categories, geographies and customer segments, quick commerce is projected to grow at over 40 per cent annually through 2030.
While quick commerce began with grocery, 15 to 20 per cent of its GMV now comes from categories such as general merchandise, mobile phones, electronics and apparel. The report added that quick commerce players have improved unit economics by increasing order values, lowering supply chain costs, and enhancing gross margins.
While initially competing in the quick commerce space, the likes of Zepto, Swiggy Instamart and Blinkit have upped their game in the quick delivery segment. While food aggregator Zomato has introduced its rapid delivery service, Zomato Quick, and Blinkit has rolled out Bistro, an app to deliver food quickly. On the other hand, the industry already has Swiggy’s Bolt and Zepto’s Café catering to the same need.
Concerns On Exploitative Practices
The major concern that the industry associations have raised comes down to the aspect of unsustainability, safety of delivery personnel and their impact on the traditional retail. Khandelwal said that the 10-minute delivery system not only undermines these small retailers but also places undue mental and physical pressure on delivery workers, who are often subjected to unrealistic targets and unsafe conditions.
“Convenience cannot come at the cost of human dignity. The government must seriously consider framing guidelines or regulations to curb exploitative practices in quick commerce, ensuring that worker rights and humane working conditions are non-negotiable,” said Kailash Lakhyani, Chairman of All India Mobile Retailers Association (AIMRA).
Cait National President B C Bhartia said that behind every lightning-fast delivery is a worker racing against the clock, risking their safety, health and dignity. Bhartia added that this model promotes a toxic work culture, putting immense pressure on delivery personnel, many of whom work in unsafe conditions, under stress and often without adequate compensation or protection.
The story’s Other Side
While the industry associations have been vocal on the quick delivery services, the Union Minister for Industry and Commerce Piyush Goyal also criticised the Indian startup ecosystem’s focus on food delivery apps, instant grocery delivery and the culture of selling fancy ice cream and cookies.
During his address at the Startup Mahakumbh 2025, the Minister said, “What are India’s startups doing today? We are focused on food delivery apps, turning unemployed youth into cheap labour so the rich can get their meals without moving out of their house.”
While stating that we are very proud of what India has done, the Minister also highlighted that we are not the best in the world as yet. “Should we aspire to be or are we going to be happy being delivery boys and girls?”
Reacting to Goyal’s statement, Zepto’s Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Aadit Palicha, hit back by stating that it is easy to criticise consumer internet startups in India, especially when you compare them to the deep technical excellence being built in the United States and China.
“Using our example, the reality is this: there are almost 1.5 lakh real people who are earning livelihoods on Zepto today – a company that did not exist 3.5 years ago. Over Rs 1,000 crore of tax contribution to the government per year, over a billion dollars of FDI brought into the country and hundreds of crore invested in organising India’s backend supply chains (especially for fresh fruits and vegetables),” Palicha mentioned in his LinkedIn post.
The Reality Behind Retail Apocalypse Narrative
It all comes down to the main question: Is the online commerce ecosystem growing at the cost of traditional retail? Well, while going by the hyper reactions from the industry associations might point towards the same, in reality, it might not be the absolute truth.
The ‘retail apocalypse’ narrative is rejected by offline vendors themselves. While less than 20 per cent of the offline vendors reported a physical store closure in their neighbourhood since 2020 – the year of the ecommerce boom, only a small fraction of offline vendors (six per cent) attributed brick-and-mortar store closures to consumers shifting to online shopping, according to an earlier report by Pahle India Foundation.
The report titled ‘Assessing the net impact of ecommerce on employment and consumer welfare in India’ mentioned that when asked about the impact of ecommerce on their overall business, 86 per cent of offline vendors disagreed with the notion that ecommerce growth negatively affects the employment they generate. Noting that the physical retail continues to grow and thrive, the report stated that about one-fourth of offline vendors plan to expand by either buying a new store, expanding or renovating their existing store, diversifying their product range, adopting more technology or listing on ecommerce platforms.
What’s Next For Kirana Stores?
Despite the debate around the quick commerce and kirana stores, one factor that stands out – which is the need for digitisation on the part of the traditional retailers. Industry experts believe that kirana stores need to offer online ordering solutions to their customers, while highlighting that upto 15 per cent of a kirana seller orders come from home delivery, which is taken over the phone and WhatsApp.
Experts say that Kirana shops’ home delivery business is a feasible business even as of today. Each kirana store has loyal customers in their neighborhood and some stores process 100 or more home delivery orders everyday and this is in spite of dark store-led quick commerce options available.
“As we are seeing discounts come down and delivery and convenience charges adding on to the dark store quick commerce carts, the kirana store pricing is already becoming competitive today and will eventually be even more competitive, given free delivery and no hidden charges. The difference will only be a 10 to 15-minute delivery from dark stores against a 25 to 30-minute delivery from the Kirana store,” said Alok Chawla, Founder at Kiko Live.
Chawla added that with India being a very price-conscious market, most customers will happily wait an extra 15 minutes rather than pay Rs 50 in delivery and convenience fees and other hidden charges like packing fees and so on.
While the race to gain the upper hand in the country’s rapidly growing online delivery ecosystem gains momentum, ruling out the possibility of traditional retailers making a comeback may be premature.
