Quick Commerce Finds Its Goldmine in Indian Fashion’s Urgency and Margins

Quick commerce is an emerging retail model that delivers limited product quantities to customers within 15-45 minutes of ordering. This pioneering method to e-commerce, also known as q-commerce, has gained momentous traction in India’s urban centres.

Quick commerce differentiates itself from typical e-commerce through key differentiators:

• Delivery Speed:Hyperlocal fulfilment within 15–45 minutes
• Order Size:Smaller, more frequent orders
• Product Range:Focus on critical items, groceries, and instant needs
• Fulfilment Centres:It utilises micro-fulfilment centres known as dark stores in thickly populated areas

There are mainly three models that are in play at the moment.

Model 1: Pure-Play Q-Commerce Companies

• Example: Zepto, Blinkit, Swiggy Instamart, etc.
• Fulfilment strategy: Market leaders such as Zepto, Blinkit or Instamart deliver groceries and essentials in 15–45 minutes through tactically located dark stores driven by algorithmic logistics. Blinkit uses Zomato's delivery network while Instamart uses Swiggy's food delivery infrastructure, both growing into quick commerce by utilizing their well-known customer ecosystems
• Fashion brands using this model: Adidas, Pepe Jeans, Enamor, Manyavar, Fabindia, Decathlon, U.S. Polo Assnm etc.

Model 2: Individual E Commerce companies and Fashion Brand

• Example: Myntra’s M Now, NEWME zip, Nykaa Now, Slikk
• Fulfilment Strategies:
• Myntra M-Now: Fashion merchandise in 30 minutes to 3 hours using dark stores and brand partnerships for fast delivery in select areas.
• Nykaa Now: Beauty products within 30 minutes to 3 hours in specific locations, focusing on high-demand items consumers need immediately.
• NEWME Zip: 60-minute delivery in Bengaluru using both dark stores (online-only warehouses) and physical retail stores as pickup points.
• Slikk: Targets young shoppers (Gen Z and millennials) with curated fashion brands, using tech systems and dark stores placed near customer areas for fast delivery.

Model 3: Partnership/Integration Model

• Example: Medicine delivery by PharmEasy via Swiggy
• Fulfilment strategy: Swiggy Instamart has partnered with PharmEasy using a "shop-in-shop" model where medicines get dedicated space inside Swiggy's dark stores with trained staff handling prescription verification and medicine quality checks. PharmEasy uses advanced prescription recognition technology to scan and read medical orders, supported by dedicated quality assurance teams that confirm accuracy and adherence to pharmaceutical rules. This partnership enables Swiggy to expand its customer reach while enhancing average order value

Target Customers for Fashion Quick Commerce: Broadly speaking, there are three segments that are the target.

• Primary: Gen Z and Millennials (16-35 years) who prefer speed and immediate gratification. These younger population driving demand for cool fashion items delivered promptly.
• Urban working professionals and young parents who live in bigger cities, they need last-minute outfits for events, work meetings, or social occasions and are eager to pay premium for convenience.
• Fashion-conscious customers with higher disposable income who prefer brand authenticity, style trends, and instant access to fashion items, often influenced by social media and impulse buying behaviour.

As discussed earlier in this article, Q-commerce thrives exceptionally well with Indian consumers. The key factors include:

• India's exclusive advantages include: Dense city population clusters enable well-organized dark store coverage, significantly lower delivery costs due to cheap labour, and a large young demographic happy with digital payments and instant indulgence culture.
• Global markets face problems due to: Higher labour costs making 15–45-minute delivery lossmaking, lower population density needs longer delivery distances, and mature retail systems where consumers were not willing to pay premiums for speed over reputable convenience stores.
• Cultural factors: Indians' penchant for fresh groceries, readiness to pay for convenience, and rapid smartphone adoption created unique conditions for q-commerce adoption that did not exist anywhere.

Fashion Industry Evolution Through Four Cycles: Fashion retail is driven by creativity and ever-growing customer preferences. The industry has grown from traditional physical stores and in season collections to a digitally-driven marketplace where trends change quickly and customer satisfaction rely on instant access to trendy styles.

• The incumbents: Traditional brands kept hold of offline retail through limited distribution networks and high barriers to entry.
• E-commerce boom: Established players transitioned online while marketplaces democratized access, removing physical shelf constraints.
• D2C disruption: Digital-first brands emerged targeting Millennials and Gen Z with niche positioning, value-driven storytelling and identity-led shopping became central.
• Online 2.0 (current phase): Focus shifted from access to speed, curation, and behaviour-shaping. Quick commerce fulfils instant consumer demands through accelerated delivery models.

Indian Fashion and Retail Market Growth (2023 -2030)

Reference for numbers

• Indian GDP numbers are from word bank data
• Total Retail, Fashion Retail and Fashion E commerce Data is from Redseer.co article – “Click to Chic: How E-Commerce is Redefining India’s Fashion Landscape”
• Revenue of Q commerce companies in 2023 is ~ 2.3 billion USD, Fashion Q commerce actual data is minuscule, as per IBEF article – “The Rise of Quick Commerce in India: Revolutionising Retail and Last-Mile Delivery”
• Projected Revenue of Q commerce companies in 2030 is ~ 57 billion USD as per ETCFTO.com article – “Smaller cities to drive India's quick commerce market to $57 billion by 2030”

All this does not mean that it would be a smooth ride all the way for stakeholders.

• Returns Challenge
  • Fashion experiences exceptionally high return rates due to traditional try-before-buy consumer habits.
  • Fit and feel uncertainties lead to frequent post-purchase mind changes—difficult to assess online.
  • Quick commerce platforms lack native return processing capabilities for resale, unlike traditional e-commerce.
• Inventory Complexities
  • Multiple size storage requirements across various product categories for minimum quantity criteria.
  • Capital-intensive multi-location dark store inventory management for expedited delivery.
  • Dark store space limitations restrict the breadth of product assortments.
  • Unpredictable buying patterns unlike groceries require hyper-local forecasting.
• Standardisation Problem
  • Inconsistent sizing charts across brands create consumer confusion.
• Logistics Challenges
  • Specialised handling requirements beyond grocery logistics capabilities.
  • Complex SKU handling: colour-size-style matrix demands meticulous tracking.
  • Quality control issues for maintaining brand integrity.
• Consumer Experience Issues
  • Fashion requires interactive, personalized shopping experiences.
  • Physical interaction needs for material assessment and fit evaluation.
  • Trust building for correct sizing and quality delivery.

Overcoming Fashion Quick Commerce Implementation Barriers

There are ways and means to circumvent or even tackle these problems head on.

• Technology Solutions
  • AR virtual try-ons: Advanced augmented reality provides realistic virtual fitting experiences for customers to visualize fit before purchase.
  • AI product visualisation: Machine learning creates detailed 3D representations showing fabric texture and styling characteristics.
  • Smart size recommendations: AI analyses customer measurements and history to suggest optimal sizes across brands.
  • Interactive shopping tools: Computer vision helps customers explore products based on body type and preferences.
• Inventory Management
  • Predictive analytics: AI forecasts demand utilises consumer data and local trends.
  • Dynamic stock optimisation: Machine learning corrects inventory based on real-time sales, climate, and social media movements.
  • Hyper-local stocking: Algorithms determine specific sizes and colours needed at each dark store.
• Returns Innovation
  • Try-and-return models: Companies like Slikk offer 10-minute trials with waiting delivery personnel.
  • Brand-led reverse logistics: D2C brands such as Pant Project handle return logistics within quick commerce partnerships.
  • Low-return focus: Emphasis on basics and innerwear with minimal return rates,
• Operations
  • Multi-tier distribution: Fast-moving basics stocked locally, specialized items at regional hubs for same-day delivery.

Throughout my 25 + years career in fashion retail, I have witnessed how the convergence of fashion, technology and newer sales channels has reformed our industry.

Fashion quick commerce is not about instant gratification—it is about acclimatizing to growing consumer realities. Just as Netflix transformed entertainment consumption and email revolutionized communication, quick commerce represents a necessary evolution in how Indian consumers shop, not a fleeting trend.

The marriage of fashion and quick commerce creates compelling opportunities for retail stakeholders. Fashion's superior unit economics deliver 3–5x higher margins and significantly higher average order values compared to traditional quick commerce categories. This makes it an attractive proposition for Quick platforms seeking sustainable profitability.

Industry giants like D-Mart and hypermarket chains have long understood fashion's margin advantages over FMCG products. Quick commerce platforms can now harness this same dynamic, adopting alongside low-margin grocery orders averaging ₹450-500 to high-value fashion orders of ₹2000–3000+ with enhanced profitability.

Quick commerce will naturally attract fashion buyers because today's generation demands immediacy. E-commerce organisations need 3–10 days for fashion delivery; while visiting traditional multi-brand outlets or departmental stores like Shoppers Stop or Lifestyle feels boring to many target customers who expect instant fulfilment.

Fashion brands can gain a powerful sales channel without dismantling existing sales, particularly valuable for millennials and Gen Z consumers who prioritize ease and digital-first experiences. These platforms can help clearing discounted, seasonal, or slow-moving inventory—addressing a important challenge for Indian fashion retailers who operate on Spring Summer/Autumn Winter cycles that less than 20% of consumers follow.

The Swiggy-PharmEasy partnership shows quick commerce's capability to enter complex, consideration-driven categories.

Fashion and apparel present comparable challenges but greater rewards, requiring behavioural engineering to generate new consumption patterns while preserving quality standards.

The verdict is clear: fashion epitomizes quick commerce's most promising path to sustainable profits. Early movers who identify this opportunity and perform considerately will define the next chapter of Indian retail. The question is not whether fashion fits in quick commerce, but how quickly platforms will grab this goldmine.

The future belongs to those who embrace smart speed built on trust, choice, and relevance.