India's quick commerce to drive 75 million sq ft of urban logistics space by 2030
India's fast-growing quick commerce sector is expected to require nearly 75 million square feet of urban logistics space by 2030 because of the rapid expansion of dark stores and supporting warehousing infrastructure, a report said on Monday.
A report by CBRE South Asia estimates that the sector will need about 42 million square feet of in-city dark stores and another 33 million square feet of mother hubs by the end of the decade.
Mother hubs are large warehouses typically located on city outskirts that stock inventory and replenish multiple dark stores through a hub-and-spoke distribution model, it added.
India's quick commerce ecosystem has expanded to around 7,800 dark stores in 2026 and currently occupies nearly 27 million square feet of logistics space across more than 100 cities.
While around 65-70 per cent of the existing dark-store network remains concentrated in the country's top eight metropolitan markets, operators are increasingly expanding into tier-II and tier-III cities.
The report has expected that the number of dark stores will exceed 12,000 by 2030.
Quick commerce-related warehousing demand recorded a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 81 per cent between 2021 and 2025, accounting for about 4-5 per cent of total logistics leasing activity across India during the period, it added.
In addition, annual space absorption linked to quick commerce increased from 3.1 million square feet in 2024 to 4.3 million square feet in 2025.
City-wise, Delhi-NCR emerged as the largest market and accounted for 21 per cent of total quick commerce warehousing demand between 2021 and the first half of 2026, followed closely by Mumbai at 20 per cent and Bengaluru at 17 per cent.
While Hyderabad contributed 16 per cent and Chennai accounted for 11 per cent.
"Quick commerce is reshaping how consumption and urban logistics intersect in India, and real estate sits at the heart of this shift," said Anshuman Magazine, Chairman and CEO, India, South-East Asia, Middle East and Africa, CBRE.
"As platforms move from capital-heavy expansion to a more disciplined growth cycle, the focus is moving from simply adding stores to building dense, efficient and well-located fulfilment networks. This will create a substantial real estate opportunity across in-city locations and city peripheries," he added.
Looking ahead, CBRE said the sector's growth will depend on the creation of compliant, strategically located and future-ready fulfilment assets capable of supporting evolving operational requirements across both metropolitan and emerging urban markets.
