Real numbers: The economics of express deliveries

15-minute deliveries are the flavour of the season. At what point does it all start making sense?

It’s 2015 all over again. “Hyperlocal” as a buzzword is back in fundraising pitches and investor discussions. Only this time, the phenomenon is more ambitious than ever before—bigger and bolder, so to say.

In the past few months, the race to deliver groceries to your doorstep has been moving from an hour to 45, 30, 15 minutes, or even less. At this point, same-day or even two-hour delivery is for losers.

Multiple startups have now either launched express delivery verticals or ramped up their existing services. Food delivery startup Swiggy has been investing heavily in its Instamart grocery service; a …

Author

Harveen Ahluwalia

Harveen is a co-founder at The Morning Context, and leads our Internet coverage. She has previously worked as a media, consumer and tech reporter at The Ken and Mint. At The Morning Context, she writes on startups, venture capital, consumer and media businesses—from e-commerce to healthtech to streaming.

Editor, Internet

harveen@mailtmc.com

Dubai

Author

Pranav S.

Pranav is a co-founder at The Morning Context and used to lead the edit team here. He has previously worked as a writer and editor at The Ken and Mint, where he worked on business news from tech to banking to deals. At The Morning Context, he helps manage editorial operations, edits and commissions long-form stories, and writes at the intersections of technology, business and finance.

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pranav@mailtmc.com

Bengaluru