Lower Payouts, Increased Competition Fuel Rider Shortage For Quick Commerce Firms Ahead Of Festive Rush

Over 2 lakh seasonal jobs are expected to be created in the second half, bringing the total gig workforce to 1.1 crore for the current financial year — a 15–20% year-on-year growth. However, the demand for such roles is much higher and supply remains a pressing hurdle, industry executives say.

"The gap is only widening every year as manpower supply hasn’t fully caught up in high-growth zones," said Madhav Krishna, chief executive officer of recruitment platform Vahan.ai, which works with major gig economy players, including Swiggy, Zepto, Blinkit and Amazon.

The National Capital Region, Bengaluru, Mumbai and Chennai are facing the most acute rider shortages due to more orders and competitive hiring, even though delivery workforce capacity has expanded 50% year-on-year.

"In several metros, daily order volumes at dark stores can reach as high as 1,500 orders per day, while simultaneously coping with 25–30% rider vacancies. This combination of high volumes and rider shortages continues to stretch fleets thin, impacting operational performance," Balasubramanian added.

Tier‑II cities and beyond — including Indore, Nagpur, Coimbatore, Lucknow, Jaipur, Kochi and Ranchi — are also under pressure, with flexi-staffing growth in non-metros estimated at 16–20% compared to 9–10% nationally.

A lot of delivery hubs across the country are operating with stretched fleets at a time when quick commerce players have been widening their geographic footprint and extending last-mile coverage.

Eternal's Blinkit added 243 new stores in the April-June quarter alone, taking its total to 1,544. It plans to expand its network to 2,000 stores by December. Swiggy Instamart operates 1,062 stores and Zepto operates 1,150 stores. The new entrants like Flipkart Minutes and Amazon Now have expanded their footprint in metros, adding pressure to a workforce already stretched thin.

"Platform-switching is also rampant, with the average stint among delivery personnel being four–six months and tenure is further declining, especially in high-pressure cities like Delhi and Bengaluru," Gupta said.

Intense delivery pressure, tight timelines and mounting physical strain are also contributing to burnout and high attrition, according to recruitment platforms. Many gig workers are even opting out of hyperlocal quick delivery altogether to more stable e-commerce roles.

Quick commerce players are also ramping up incentive schemes, flexi-shifts in a bid to retain talent, according to Shilpa Subhaschandra, chief commercial officer, operational talent solutions, Randstad India. They are also offering joining bonuses to accelerate onboarding in crunch zones. "Yet, we are seeing new career pathways emerging, with some gig workers moving into adjacent roles in logistics, retail or field services."

Gupta, however, added that shift to incentive-linked pay is affecting retention.

Blinkit and Instamart didn't respond to NDTV Profit queries.

"The festive season is always the peak period for last-mile deliveries, with a sharp surge in order volumes," said Aashutosh Taparia, national head, last mile delivery) at Bigbasket. "We are hiring nearly 50% more gig delivery partners compared to our regular daily login, giving us the added capacity required during this season."

"This translates into thousands of new short-term opportunities. Due to higher demand, the delivery personnel are also being paid extra incentives, which in turn is driving up the cost per order," Taparia said.

Last-mile gig workforce is the backbone of Flipkart’s operations, more so during the festive season when customer expectations peak and delivery volumes multiply, according to Aakriti Chandra, vice president-HR, Ekart, Minutes & CX, Flipkart. "To meet this surge, we invest in proactive, data-led workforce planning, enabling us to forecast requirements in advance and create lakhs of seasonal opportunities across our supply chain every year."