Authors: Anamika R, Anaswara Obrin, Sreelakshmi PM

1.Introduction

Q-commerce, also termed as Quick Commerce has been gaining immense popularity in the contemporary generation owing to the precedence of speedy and prompt delivery services. Quick commerce is a byproduct of e-commerce which focuses on delivering goods and services to the consumers very quickly within 30 minutes to 1 hour. The major characteristic of Q commerce is clearly indicated by the term itself and it will be the next generation of e-commerce (Nierynck, 2020). Specifically defined, Quick commerce is speed delivery of goods, often groceries, to urban customers under an hour, through some deliveries which takes less than 15 minutes.

Products include food and grocery items, sanitary products, cosmetics, magazines etc. which are stored in dark stores, inaccessible to the general public, scattered across urban areas, facilitating fast online services. The supply-demand disequilibrium during the pandemic, simultaneously had an adverse effect of traditional retailers whereas served as an opportunity for online businesses (Elnahla and Neilson, 2021). Therefore, Covid-19 was particularly responsible for the increasing popularity of Q-commerce posed by the difficulties assiciated with going to retail stores and the risk of infection which had negaticely affected traditional retailers, several of whom had to shut down their stores due to lack of demand. This essay further exproles the impact of the rapid growth of Q-commerce on traditional retailers.

2.Literature Review 

The impact of Covid-19 virus and accelerated acceptance of online shopping technologies by consumers led to the introduction and faster growth of e-commerce and Quick-commerce (Gupta, 2024). The demand for quick delivery grew sharply thoughout the pandemic and a study conducted on q-commerce customers had showed that 12% of them had completely switched to online deliveries (Günday et al., 2020). This is a result of the convenience, increased business opportunities and probability of a successful business. The demand for Q-commerce is higher among the youth who are familiar with mobile phone usage (Tugberk Ariker, 2021) and online transactions.

The arrival of Quick commerce have posed a serious threat to traditional retail market. This is evident from a recent study conducted on consumers perception on Quick commerce replacing traditional retail shops. Findings of this recent study showed that 55% of the people said yes indicating a gradual shift from the traditional retail shopping habits, 30% said no suggesting a strong hold to traditional grocery stores and 15% were reflecting uncertainty (Singh, Agarwal 2025).The estimated market size for Quick commerce around was $4 globally, out of this Indian market projected to reach $5 billion in 2025 from $0.3 billion in 2021 (Gupta, 2024).On a research conducted by IRJMETS adopting a quantitative approach it identifies that key factors including consumer behavior, conveniences, delivery speed, overall shopping experiences were of great importance through a questionnaire administered to 100 residents of Vadodara. It showed that a majority of respondents perceive Quick commerce as more convenient and faster than traditional retail, with 58% favoring its convenience and 69% recognizing its superior delivery speed (Mistry, Jethva, 2025). Surprisingly Quick commerce also faces challenges like the difficulty to strengthen its arrival and growth in the market. In Boston Consulting Group’s study, it critically evaluates the challenges of Quick commerce in gaining profits due to increasing the operational costs, warehousing, delivery logistics etc which is required to attract the customers. This report contrasts with the retail stores which operates on more stable margins (Singh, Agarwal 2025).

The government has been focusing on protecting the interests of the small retailers and traditional Kirana stores, safeguarding local business interests and promoting fare competition. Various measures in the form of Acts, rules and policies have been put in place to ensure a leveled playing-field and to act against anti-competitive practices (India’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry, 2023). The government has been putting forward ONDC’s for integrating digital platforms, FDI regulations to protect the retail market and prevent the Quick commerce from taking advantage of the multi-brand retail stores.

3.Methodology

This study adopted a cross-sectional design to explore the research question, by collecting primary data through questionnaire-based web survey using Google forms, administered to a targeted sample. Secondary data was sourced from academic articles sourced from Google Scholar, the Government of India’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry’s official website, and international journals including IJFMR, IJRPR and IRJMETS. The integration of primary and secondary data enabled a comprehensive and robust analysis, ensuring nuanced understanding and conclusions on the topic.

4.Analysis

The aim of the survey was to understand consumer attitudes towards quick commerce platforms and analyze the impact of its rising popularity on the traditional retail industry.

The analysis was done using primary data from a sample of 72 resondents.

People from five different age groups participated in the survey (Below 18, 18-24, 24-34, 35-44, 45 and above) with the largest 65.7% of respondents being 18-24 years of age.

Of the total respondents, 88.9% identified as female and 11.1% identified as male, reflecting a gender distribution skewed towards female participants.

The samples were distributed across students, working professionals, home makers, retired and other with the largest proportion of samples being students (81.9%).

Majority of the participants resided in urban areas (76.4%) followed by semi urban (18.1%).Only 5.6% of respondents lived in rural areas.

The questions were designed to gather insights into consumer behaviors, preferences and perceptions regarding Quick commerce platforms compared to conventional retail shopping. The questions also explored the impact of rising popularity of Q-commerce platforms on the traditional retail industry.

5.Findings

1. Majority of the respondents purchase from Quick Commerce platforms occasionally(56.9%)followed by respondents who use Q-commerce platforms weekly(22.2%).12.5% of participants have never used any Quick Commerce platforms. While 8.3% of respondents agreed that they purchase using Quick Commerce platforms on a daily basis.
2. Instamart and Blinkit were the popular choices among the respondents(27.5%).Other Q- commerce platforms like Zepto, big basket, Jiomart were also widely used.
3. 64.3% respondents used Quick Commerce platforms to buy groceries indicating that quick commerce is particularly favored for regular, time-sensitive purchases like fresh produce and pantry staples.
4. 52.9% participants opted to buy snacks using Quick commerce showing the alarming rise of impulse buying. As a matter of fact 54.2% of respondents agreed that quick commerce encourages impulse buying.
5. Convenience was chosen by 72.9% as the major factor that motivates them to use Quick commerce. Speed and discounts also emerged as reasons for quick commerce purchases. Delivery speed was considered very important in affecting their decision to use quick commerce platforms (21).56.9% respondents were ready to pay premium for ultra-fast delivery if needed.
6. 46.7% respondents spend less than Rs 500 on their Quick commerce purchases per month. While 40% spend rs 500-1000. Only a small proportion of participants spend above Rs 2000 (4.3%).
7. 97% of respondents still shop from traditional retail stores like kirana stores and supermarkets at least occasionally which underscores their continued relevance.66.7% participants preferred traditional retail stores over Quick commerce platforms due to a sense of personal touch.Other major reasons were availability of fresh products and a chance to bargain.
8. Though half the pool of respondents didn’t reduce their visits to traditional retail stores since using quick commerce platforms, 23.6% of the respondents reported to have reduced their visits.
9. 66.4% agreed that quick commerce is negatively impacting small retailers. A significant majority of respondents (79.2%) indicated that they would be willing to support local retailers if they offered a level of convenience comparable to that of quick commerce platforms.

6.Discussion

A large proportion of the sample have used Q-commerce, mainly for the purchase of perishable products. Customers tend to value convenience over price as shown by their willingness to pay a higher price for better online services. The findings show that though consumer loyalty to local retailers remains strong, convenience is what drifts them to quick commerce platforms. Therefore, the prevalence of convenience over consumer loyalty has been found to be an importance factor which drives switching to online mode of purchase. Simultaneously, the preference for retail stores stand strong owing to personal factors and bargaining power which cannot be offered by Q-commerce. Popularity of online buying is highly prevalent among the youth and the urban population.

7.Recommendations

• Consumers today value convenience over anything, in this case collaboration with quick commerce platforms can be beneficial for local retailers to stay relevant in the growing digital world.
• What makes Local retailors stand apart is personal customer relationships, they can efficiently make use of this by enhancing in-store experiences, providing loyal customers with discounts from time to time. Focusing on local preferences and improving personalized services will increase sales.
• Products like milk, bread are rarely available fresh in quick commerce platforms. Local retailers can home deliver fresh daily essentials.
• One reason why people chose Quick commerce platforms is their wide product range, local retailers can bring in more variety of products and also include traditional products that are not available online easily.
• Improve and strengthen the government policies and rules which has already been established to protect the existence of traditional retailers.

8.Conclusion

Q-commerce continues to grow rapidly after the pandemic due to its characteristics of convenience of consumers and business prosperity when customers were unable to access necessities from physical stores. It prioritizes quick and prompt delivery at the doorstep of consumers as well as acts an Industry which enlargens the gig economy. Eventhough it had adverse affects on physical retail stores throughout the pandemic, the condition had improved post pandemic, mainly due to aspects like personal requirements and good buyer-seller relations. This shows that strategies like personalized selling and ensuring convinience of buyers can provide enough opportunities for traditional retailers to stay relevant in the market as these elements cannot be easily relaced by Q-commerce.

9.References

Gupta, S. (2024). A study on emergence of quick commerce. International Journal of Future Management Research, 6(2). https://doi.org/10.36948/ijfmr.2024.v06i02.19226

Singh, V., & Agarwal, S. (2025). Evaluating the impact of quick commerce on traditional grocery retailers: Challenges, adaptation, and future trajectories. International Journal of Research Publication and Reviews, 6(3), 6424–6427.

Mistry, M., & Jethva, Y. (2025). Analyzing the impact of quick commerce on consumer buying decisions and satisfaction in Vadodara. International Research Journal of Modernization in Engineering, Technology and Science, 7(3).

Tugberk Ariker, C. (2021). Do consumers punish retailers with poor working conditions during COVID-19 crisis? An experimental study of q-commerce grocery retailers. Journal of Management, Marketing and Logistics (JMML), 8(3), 140–153. https://doi.org/10.17261/Pressacademia.2021.1453