Is Cheap Quick Commerce A Bubble Waiting To Be Burst? What Experts Say

In an insightful discussion on NDTV Profit's 'Big Question' segment over the evolution of quick commerce platforms like Swiggy, Zomato, Blinkit and the like, the elephant in the room was the surcharges levied on customers under 'rain fee', 'demand fee' and so on, and whether or not these charges were justifiable.

"The quick commerce platforms had to change consumer behaviour. Just three years back, nobody really thought we needed groceries in 10 minutes... Now all of us want everything. Now to change consumer behaviour, you need to induce trial, make people addicted to it, taste the convenience and become habituated. That needed discounts," said K Ganesh, partner at 'GrowthStory.In', on NDTV Profit. He added that now that consumers have become habituated to quick commerce, they would be willing to pay extra charges for the convenience of a 10-minute doorstep delivery.

Ganesh considers this to be a fair ask in the quick commerce industry, although he believes that there should be transparency while communicating the fee. He underlines the significance of clearly mentioning what the customers are being charged for.

Former vice president at Zomato, Amit Varma echoed his sentiments and said, "At the end of the day, the consumers have to pay for what they're getting. Customers will have to get used to paying the excess charges that are being levied."

Madhulika Tiwari, partner at The Knowledge Company, reiterated the way forward for quick commerce company and stated, "Profitability for any sustainable business is critical. That's where charges are required, it's fine". She emphasised the need for visibility and transparency in these surcharges.

On the other hand, Mandar Lande, the co-founder of Waayu food delivery app, expressed his faith in the rise of quick commerce players that function within a 'no commission' ecosystem. He stated, "We respect the scale that these big three have achieved in the quick commerce segment and the way they have solved the problems. But, the pressure is mounting on the merchants. More than 25%, 30% commissions are there for merchants."

"We are not having platform fees, surge charges, and at the same time we deliver same quality food, in the same time", he said further, highlighting the zero commission ecosystem of the Waayu platform.

Although, he added, it might take time for such alternative platforms to replace the instant gratification customers get from these 10 minute delivery apps. He believes that new players such as Waayu are going to solve the challenges created by the rise of quick commerce platforms. "With these platforms scaling up, there are new kinds of problems that are erupting; probably platforms like Waayu will come up and try to solve this. Then we will be able to create a sustainable environment", Lande remarked.