Amazon has entered the quick commerce (QCom) race in India, closing in on pilots from Flipkart and Reliance. Tata’s Big Basket has been transformed into a QCom platform. These moves have the potential to reshape the entire retail industry, not just this booming area of quick home delivery.
India’s retail industry is estimated to be worth over $1.3 trillion, of which the online segment still accounts for only 5.4% and QCom less than 0.3%. Even before the world’s largest retailer debuted in India’s QCom space, e-com and quick delivery services have been growing rapidly, and this split is changing.
The rise of Big QCom, if you can call it that, is likely to disrupt retail in this country in all its forms and impact other areas of the industry as well. Traditional retailers, kirana shops and corner shops, are likely to be more affected than ever by the rise of online sales and Qcom pioneers such as Zepto, InstaMart and Zomato’s Blinkit.
QCom beats corner stores not only in the variety of products it offers, but also in convenience. Currently, kirana stores also have products delivered to your home and the prices are comparable. For those who prefer to pay by cash on delivery, there is no difference in payment method except that Corner Store, which we have been using for years, may give you a credit for a few days, but this is not the case with QCom services. there is no.
But Flipkart’s financial strength, owned by Amazon, Reliance and Walmart, could give it economies of scale from the get-go. They can make bulk purchases in large quantities to get bigger discounts than typical distributors get from FMCG giants.
The cost of a distribution network to keep stock on kirana shelves includes not only logistics costs but also the profits of the stockists and distributors in the supply chain. QCom giants can cut out the intermediaries involved in kirana distribution and incur the same logistics costs as regular distributors, while preventing their margins from being added to the retail price.
In other words, by selling below cost, major retailers can sell goods cheaper than corner stores without incurring charges of predatory pricing. Another reason to buy from kiranas is to take advantage of the credit. However, such informal arrangements may no longer be sustainable, given that these small stores face price pressure from QCom companies serving the same region.
Some corner shops may choose to become Big QCom’s distribution centers and join the network of so-called dark stores that QCom relies on to quickly deliver products to our doorsteps. You may also need to specialize or find other uses for your brick-and-mortar retail space.
In any case, children of traditional shopkeepers often aspire to other occupations. We also expect to see a surge in the number of delivery companies, adding to the large army that online ordering services already employ. India’s rapidly expanding gig worker base will require policymakers to enact social security, health and work safety rules for them without delay.
Demand for electric bicycles and pedal cycles will also increase. As innovation expands to meet the needs of single-person households, individual toilet workers who share accommodation and cooks, and who have no use for stored leftovers, reliable and quick delivery will increase refrigerator sales. It may even affect.
By combining market research and AI, you can better predict demand patterns as volumes grow, allowing you to save on inventory with just-in-time operations. In summary, Big QCom can bring about more changes than you might imagine at a cursory glance.
