In India, “quick commerce” apps such as Swiggy, BlinkIt, and Zepto, have rocketed in popularity.
Financial services firm Chryseum estimates that sales have grown by around 280% in the past two years, with total business this year of more than $3 billion.
Instant delivery riders are a common sight on the streets of cities like Mumbai and Delhi.
But the All India Consumer Products Distributors Federation says that more than 200,000 small shops have closed in the past year alone.
Anish’s family have been running a shop for the past 71 years, but as custom dries up they are thinking of closing down.
As elsewhere, the quick commerce apps rely on cheap labour in the form of gig work, and it is unclear whether their success in the cities will translate to smaller towns and villages, where operating costs are much higher.
And while Swiggy and BlinkIt, which is owned by Zomato, have both been floated on the Stock Exchange in Mumbai, Swiggy has yet to make a profit.
