India’s quick commerce revolution has been nothing short of breathtaking. Many key players have emerged as the showstoppers of this segment and have changed the way we shop for essentials by offering groceries, meals, or any last-minute items in under 10 to 20 minutes.
Fueled by massive funding rounds, hyper-urban demand, and a race to capture mindshare, and market share, these companies have scaled at a pace once considered impossible.These startups didn’t just disrupt kirana stores—they reshaped urban consumer expectations and experience.
But as the initial euphoria fades, deeper narratives are surfacing. And for founders, this is more than just market drama—this is a live case study in scaling, ethics, and sustainability.
Beyond the Buzz: What’s Really Going On?
Traffic, Violations & Gig Worker Burnout
Cities are bleeding under intense delivery demand. Everyday traffic congestion and thousands of road safety violations by delivery riders—and even a fatality in Gurgaon—highlight how intense delivery timelines are risking lives. Worker burnout, long hours, and high-speed crashes are becoming alarmingly common.
Infrastructure Is Buckling
As demand grows, so does stress on supply chains, last-mile logistics, and inventory management. Companies are overstretching warehousing and transport capacity, especially in Tier-1 and Tier-2 cities.
Dark Patterns & Manipulative UX
In recent months, users have reported a sharp uptick in ‘dark patterns’ or manipulative UX—items added to carts without consent, hidden charges during checkout, and discount systems that aren’t as honest as they appear. While many platforms use persuasive design, what differentiates responsible brands from opportunistic ones is frequency, transparency, and intent.
Hygiene & Food Safety Lapses
Dark store shortcuts and rushed stocking have drawn scrutiny. A particularly troubling instance came when recently, a key player’s dark store in Dharavi lost its FDA license after officials found fungal growth, stagnant water, and expired stock stored alongside fresh goods.
Predatory Pricing & Data Exploitation
Platforms have been accused of pricing items below cost to lure customers, only to raise prices once competitors are squeezed out. Algorithmic pricing further entrenches inequalities by serving higher prices to select users based on location or device.
Tech Glitches & Delivery Errors
Frequent app issues like wrong deliveries, cart errors, or ghost stock are eroding brand credibility and customer satisfaction.
Scaling Issues
While Quick Commerce is thriving in metro cities, there is notably lower penetration in semi-urban and rural areas because of lower disposable incomes, logistical challenges and poor digital consumption. This limits the scope of market expansion that keeps the industry confined to urban hubs.
Environmental Toll
Dark stores and motorbike fleets generate single-use plastic waste and heavy carbon emissions, without meaningful steps to reduce them. Though some brands initiated a move to reduce plastic waste by introducing 100% plastic-neutral deliveries, they failed to implement them efficiently.
Medicine Delivery Missing in Action
Unlike groceries, 10-minute medicine delivery is still largely unscalable due to stringent regulations—a glaring service gap for consumers.
A Not So Rosy Financial Story
Financially, even as revenues have grown rapidly, so have the losses. IPO plans have been delayed, investor confidence shaken, and the spotlight on governance is sharper than ever.
And the results of these incidents and reports aren’t just temporary. They are followed by a sharp dip in trust and erosion of goodwill, a currency far more valuable than valuations, even for brands that were once loved for their simplicity and speed.
Why Quick Commerce Has Brands Thinking Twice
While quick commerce offers undeniable reach, many seasoned brands are proceeding with caution for opting onto it.
Freshness Risk
A member of our community captures this sentiment precisely, “They take the stock—but by the time the customer receives it, freshness is compromised. Customers end up unhappy with the brand.” This concern resonates strongly with brands that prioritize perishable goods, beauty, or premium food—they’re wary that rapid delivery hubs may damage sensitive inventory before it even reaches the customer.
Limited Category Fit
Adwaita Nayar of Nykaa also highlights that beauty goods haven’t seen quick commerce hurt growth, but 10-minute delivery still appeals mainly to personal-care essentials, not luxury beauty lines. Quick commerce’s real potential is in impulse purchases, not high-end or experience-driven categories.
Channel Conflict
Distributor bodies like AICPDF have petitioned the government, stating quick commerce undermines small kiranas and may violate FDI norms. Brands connected to traditional channels don’t want to upset their core trade networks.
Here’s What This Moment Teaches Us:
Goodwill is a Growth Multiplier
Trust compounds. User love isn’t built on speed alone—it’s built on consistency, safety, clarity, and care. Break that, and no amount of cashback can buy it back.
Growth Is Not Just About Metrics
Focus on sustainable KPIs: retention, NPS, partner satisfaction. Vanity metrics may win headlines, but fundamentals build resilience.
Don’t Hack UX—Help Users Decide
Ethical design builds loyalty. Dark patterns might boost short-term revenue, but they burn long-term bridges.
Supply Chain = Brand Strength
Customers may never see your warehouse, but they feel its impact. Hygiene, safety, and backend discipline should be treated as front-end priorities.
Treat Gig Workers as Brand Ambassadors
Riders, pickers, support staff—they shape customer experience. Dignity, fair pay, and safety must be part of your business model, not a PR line.
Treat Regulation as a Foundation, Not a Fire Drill
Whether it’s food safety, labor laws, or data privacy, proactive compliance builds investor confidence and long-term stability.
Invest in Tech Reliability
Cart errors, ghost stock, AI glitches—these kill momentum fast.
IPO Delays Are Not Failures—They’re Opportunities
Fix before you float. Founders who take time to restructure, audit, and rebuild before going public demonstrate maturity, not weakness.
Conclusion:
In these circumstances, the quick commerce players need to pause. Now’s the time to reflect, recalibrate, and recommit—not just to speed, but to substance.
The quick commerce industry isn’t declining—it’s evolving. The market will reward those who don’t just move fast, but move mindfully. For founders building in this space, or any space, this is your reminder: velocity without values encourages volatility.
Build for the long haul. Because in the end, goodwill and sustainability aren’t just buzzwords—they’re your brand’s most defensible moat.
Growth is good. But growth with grounding? That’s what really lasts.
Written by:
Yashi Bhatia
