Why quick ecommerce is much needed than food delivery and how it's helping the personalized lifestyle brands to grow and discovery.
From the beginning, the need for quick commerce has been real, at least in metro cities—large cities with huge traffic.
The use case is simple. Everyone does grocery shopping. But when you need something urgently, maybe within an hour, it’s straightforward in tier 2 or tier 3 cities. People just walk to a nearby supermarket or kirana store—they have a go-to shop and buy what they need.
But in tier 1 cities like Delhi, Mumbai, and Bangalore, it’s a different story. Traffic is insane. People live a lifestyle built around personalized products, and those won’t be available in a regular kirana store. Many areas don’t even have a decent kirana store for kilometers. So, if you need your specialized shampoo from a personalized or niche brand, quick commerce is the only solution.
People are shifting toward personalized brands and lifestyles. And all these new startups are thriving because they’re backed by quick commerce apps. The use case never ends. The need never ends.
As this shift continues, people are becoming habituated to using quick commerce and food delivery apps. But food delivery has flaws—loopholes that could make its experience decline in the future. The chances of quick commerce surpassing food delivery are much higher.
Most people order food mainly because of discounts and coupons. Zomato’s prices are already high due to restaurant markups, and then they add another 20–30% margin on top. That’s why cloud kitchens dominate over traditional restaurants for deliveries—because of lower costs. Add in high delivery charges for distances over 7 km, and it’s no surprise people hesitate.
At the end of the day, eating out is more about the ambiance than just the food. Most restaurants and cafés survive because of their great atmosphere, even if their food is just average. But when you’re asked to pay way more for the same food at home—plus surge pricing—it starts to feel unreasonable.