The ‘dark’ truth behind q-comm’s 10-minute delivery promise

Picture this: A dozen delivery workers lie on wooden benches in a cramped room, some on the floor, while their electric scooter batteries charge. A photograph from a Zepto dark store in Ramanthapur, Hyderabad, shows just this, exposing the ugly truth behind India’s 10-minute grocery delivery promise.

Dark stores seem to be living up to their name. Only 30-40% of dark stores across major platforms provide basic amenities like toilets, drinking water, or proper seating areas, according to Salauddin, national general secretary of the Indian Federation of App-Based Transport Workers. Workers spend 10-12 hours daily at these facilities “with inadequate break or rest time, especially during peak demand hours,” he says.