Q-commerce

Q-commerce, also referred to as quick commerce, is a type of e-commerce where emphasis is on quick deliveries, typically in less than an hour.^[1] Q-commerce originally started with food delivery and it still represents the largest chunk of the business. It has quickly expanded to other categories particularly for grocery delivery, medicines, gifts, and apparel etc.^[2]

In early 2020, the restrictions imposed due to COVID-19 pandemic began to give a major boost to q-commerce as it allowed retailers to remain operational via quick home deliveries.^[3] At the time, it was speculated that prolonged restrictions would result in a long-term consumer behavior shift towards quick deliveries, establishing q-commerce as "the third generation of commerce".^[4] However, as pandemic restrictions began to lift and a burgeoning cost of living crisis made paying higher prices for rapid delivery less sustainable, demand for q-commerce in many parts of the world waned, causing businesses to downsize or fold altogether.

Companies in q-commerce include Chaldal, Meituan, Gojek, Grab, Delivery Hero, Glovo, BigBasket, Blinkit, Swiggy, Rappi, GoPuff, Instacart, Zepto and Postmates.