Delivered in an instant: India’s quick commerce apps shake up online shopping

Halfway through cooking a Kerala mutton stew for a family celebration, Akasha Advani realised she had no coconut milk.

In the past, she would have called her local grocery store in New Delhi and had the item delivered in about 30 minutes to two hours’ time. But instead she used Blinkit, an ‘instant’ delivery app, and the coconut milk was at her door in eight minutes.

It was a similar story last month, when her son invited friends to their house in the Defence Colony neighbourhood only for them to run out of tonic water around midnight. Within 10 minutes they had some more, thanks to an order placed through the Instamart app.

“I know Amazon Fresh delivers in about two hours but Blinkit’s [delivery in] 10 minutes is just amazing,” said Advani, a dentist and mother of two. “I don’t have to plan meals ahead or be super-organised. If I’m missing an ingredient, it will be there in minutes. It reduces my stress.”

While some industry players were initially sceptical about the new delivery model, consumers have welcomed the apps for their ease of use and convenience.

There is no minimum spend – a customer can, for instance, buy a single avocado and have it delivered to the doorstep – and with other advantages such as discounts for big orders and more choice, these apps are poised to upset the apple cart of traditional retail businesses.

One of the pioneers of the so-called quick-commerce industry in India is Swiggy, which began as a food delivery aggregator and later launched Instamart in 2020.

The company said it has seen more older people using the app in the past year or two – with many doing a large part of their grocery shopping through it, not just last-minute purchases.

Instamart, Blinkit and Zepto, another delivery service, have