Logistics company Shadowfax on Tuesday said quick commerce deliveries serviced by the platform grew 500% in January 2022, over same period a year ago. Touted as the next generation of e-commerce, quick commerce is all about being fast, allowing delivery of goods in 10-30 minutes.
Shadowfax serviced 6 lakh quick commerce orders daily in January 2022, as compared to 1 lakh orders a day in January 2021.
Shadowfax works with online marketplaces and e-commerce sites such as Flipkart Quick, Bigbasket, Zepto and Apollo, among others, serving customers across categories—including food delivery, grocery delivery, quick commerce, and multi-city e-commerce fulfillment. It fulfills 1 million orders daily.
Quick-commerce has become the buzzword in India’s e-commerce ecosystem and promises quick delivery of groceries and other items of daily use. Companies typically set up dark-stores or partner with local grocery stores to service orders in under 15 minutes. Dark stores are physical warehouses that cater only to online orders. The sector has seen the entry of new firms and has seen existing players such as Zepto, Blinkit (formerly known as Grofers), as well as Swiggy Instamart ramp up speedy supplies.
The segment has also drawn investor interest.
In December, instant grocery delivery start-up Zepto raised $100 million in funding taking its valuation to $570 million. Zepto was launched in 2021.
Meanwhile, in December, Swiggy said it will invest $700 million in its express grocery delivery service Instamart to scale up its non-food delivery categories. Swiggy had then said plans to make deliveries across locations in 15 minutes through ramping up its network of dark stores. Swiggy also partners with store owners to set up dedicated dark stores within a city for its Instamart business.
Hyperlocal deliveries through Shadowfax reported a 100% jump doubling on large base. Such deliveries moved up from 20 lakh orders daily to 40 lakh in the same period. Shadowfax said its e-commerce deliveries moved up 44%—growing from 80 lakh daily orders in January 2021 to 1.15 crore such orders a day in January 2022.
Demand for online deliveries typically sees a spike when cases rise and local restrictions surface.
“Unlike the first and second waves, the third wave is more likely to have a steeper impact on the overall supply chain. Owing to the safety and convenience, customers continue to make more purchases through online channels, creating more demand for the delivery sector. Data collected internally indicates that grocery and pharma categories witnessed a 50% spike in delivery volume as compared to the last month,” the company said in a statement.
