2 to 3 players to dominate India`s quick commerce market in top 40 cities
Like the e-commerce segment, where two or three players typically dominate the market in most countries, this concentration pattern has been extended to food delivery and quick commerce (QC) sector in India as well, where the top two or three firms are likely to control a major share of the market, a report has said.
The QC ecosystem in India is likely to follow a similar trajectory, with major players securing market share through aggressive growth, technological advancements, and operational effectiveness.
According to a Bernstein Research report, QC will dominate in top cities, while modern trade (MT) — retail supermarkets —will flourish in the next 400 cities.
"QC will dominate in the Top-40 cities, MT to flourish in the Next-400 cities and GT to lead the Last-4000 cities," the report noted.
At the same time, general trade (GT) -- kiranas and pop shops -- will remain the leader in the smaller cities, towns and villages.
With rapidly evolving dynamics across city tiers, India's internet economy is entering a fresh phase of rapid growth.
The report predicted that GT to lose ground to QC, e-commerce (EC), and MT; however, MT and EC may have healthy growth going ahead as well.
In India’s top urban markets, quick commerce (QC) will dominate the retail channel, fuelled by consumer demand for immediacy, convenience, and efficient logistics networks.
The report, however, emphasised that MT and EC still hold an advantage in areas such as product cataloguing and cost competitiveness.
While MT retailers are focusing more on margins and deeper assortments, especially in semi-urban areas, QC and EC platforms are making significant investments in warehouse networks and logistics optimisation to cut costs.
According to the report, India's top 40 cities, which are home to about 200 million people and 1,700 pin codes, are the centre of the digital economy and the main centres of growth and consumption for the nation's changing retail scene.
