Quick commerce takes the store route
Retailers are turning their existing stores into quick-commerce fulfilment centres, taking on Blinkit, Zepto and Swiggy Instamart while requiring less investment than separate dark-store networks. Vishal Mega Mart, Reliance Retail and Spencer’s Retail are expanding fast delivery through stores they already operate, while startups are taking it into smaller cities.
The shift changes the economics. Pure-play platforms have built dense dark-store networks for faster deliveries, while traditional retailers can use existing outlets and inventory to fulfil online orders. Vishal Mega Mart fulfils quick-commerce orders from 767 of its 819 stores across 520 cities. Of these, 423 are in tier 3 towns, defined as cities with fewer than 200,000 people.
