From tea leaves to iPhones, the country’s quick-commerce platforms are reshaping urban retail while proving sceptics wrong about their viability.
Sunday started with an unusual commotion at home. We had run out of tea leaves. Like in many Indian households, breakfast is incomplete without a cup of strong masala tea.
It was half past 7. The water was already on the stove, and I could sense the temperature rising at home. The solution had to be quick. Enter quick-commerce apps—platforms promising grocery delivery within minutes. Over the last two years, I’ve gone from “who needs quick commerce” and “people are just lazy” to “let’s Zepto/Blinkit it”.
In my residential complex, these services have become ubiquitous since their launch around 12-18 …
Pradip is a co-founder at The Morning Context and leads our newsletters vertical. He has previously worked at The Ken as a staff writer, at Mint as an assistant features editor and the Deccan Chronicle as a copy editor. He works with a slew of expert newsletter writers across subjects and domains. His own writing spans the gig economy, farmers caught in the crossfire of technology, global warming and parents trapped in the edtech wave. Some of his best stories have come at the intersection of technology and human endeavour.
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