In the previous week, Swiggy completed its ₹10,000 crore qualified institutional placement of shares to select institutions in India. It was a mix of FPIs, domestic funds, and family offices taking a stake in the company. Obviously, Swiggy is going to spend nearly half of these funds into expanding its quick commerce franchise (Instamart). The investors bought heavily precisely for that reason and the response was nearly 4.5 times. The pricing was competitive at a 4% discount to the floor price, but that was not the point. The truth is that there is still a massive appetite for quick commerce stocks among the large institutional investors, who want a big share of the small pie. 

The words of Albinder Dhindsa resonate as he heads the largest quick commerce outfit in India, Blinkit (part of Eternal). According to Dhindsa, a massive shakeout in the quick commerce space was just inevitable. Apparently, quick commerce companies have been raising capital aggressively, but there was no visibility on when the numbers would turn around and when these companies will start servicing their capital. Dhindsa has warned that unless the story changes fundamentally, the pendulum will quickly swing from one end of exuberance to the other end of scepticism. That is a stark warning. 

For the sceptics of quick commerce, the growth in recent years has been staggering. The gross order value (GOV) grew 142% CAGR between FY22 and FY25 to ₹64,000 crore. Platform revenues from quick commerce were ₹450 crore in FY22, but surged to ₹10,500 crore by FY25 and projected at ₹35,000 crore by FY28. That is a huge pathway. In fact, by FY28, the GOV is expected to touch ₹2 trillion. From being a side act, quick commerce has become the main act in ecommerce. The instant gratification culture in India, combined with private labels and brand collaborations have helped it emerge as serious business. 

Let us conclude on a positive note. If there are two big stories driving quick commerce; it is dark stores and profit consciousness. In the last 2 years, the number of dark stores have surged by 70% from 1,800 to 3,000. With numbers, the efficiency has also grown with revenue per dark store rising by 25% yoy. It is just optimized delivery round the clock. The second issue is profit-consciousness; beyond delivery speed. The retention in quick commerce has doubled from 9% to 18% between FY22 and FY25. Revenue from fees has grown 20-fold in 3 years and expected to grow another 4-fold in next 3 years. Profits may still take time; but for young, impatient India, quick commerce is the answer.