RACE FOR SPEED

As ecommerce heavyweights join the quick-commerce party, competition to deliver faster heats up

- UDISHA SRIVASTAV

As quick commerce (qcom) rose in the popularity charts, it got cornered for ignoring the research & development (R&D) route to innovation. It's also been slammed by traders time and again for threats posed to traditional retail ecosystem. Despite everything, quick commerce in India is witnessing a new wave, not just with startups and food delivery players crowding the market, but also with ecommerce (ecom) majors jumping into the fray where speed is all that matters.

Jeff Bezos-founded Amazon, for instance, is the latest to launch its quick commerce service, in select pin codes of Bengaluru. The Indian unit of the American multinational is testing the limits with Amazon Now, its qcom service.

The question that has kept the industry abuzz is whether Amazon—the fifth big player in the qcom market—could beat those who have been early players in the sector. Besides Eternal's Blinkit, Swiggy's Instamart, and Zepto, a pure-play qcom player, another e-commerce major Flipkart (majority owned by Bentonville-headquartered Walmart) ventured into qcom deliveries through Flipkart Minutes about a year ago.

While the Amazon Now service currently focuses on delivering groceries and daily essentials in one specific city, other platforms have an assortment ranging from electronics to stationery items, and personal care items to household products in different parts of the country.