Introduction
The past decade has seen rapid technological advances and changing consumer preferences which have significantly altered the retail landscape in the United States. One of the most prominent trends is the rise of quick e-commerce – the ability to order and receive products within a very short timeframe, often within hours. Driven by on-demand delivery models and optimization of supply chains, Us Quick E-Commerce has seen explosive growth and is poised to further disrupt traditional retail over the coming years.
Growth of On-Demand Delivery Services
On-demand delivery platforms like Instacart, Doordash and UberEats were among the early pioneers of quick e-commerce. By leveraging fleets of personal shoppers and couriers, these services made it possible to order groceries and restaurant meals for delivery within one hour. The convenience appealed greatly to busy urban consumers and proved highly lucrative for businesses. The segment grew over 30% annually from 2015-2019 and was estimated at over $35 billion in revenue in 2020.
Recent years have seen the expansion of on-demand delivery beyond food and groceries. Companies like GoPuff deliver an assortment of convenience store items within 30 minutes while AxleHire focuses on delivering electronics accessories and home goods quickly. Rapid delivery even for unplanned, last-minute needs has become an expectation for many consumers accustomed to the on-demand model. Moreover, restaurants, supermarkets and retailers increasingly rely on third-party platforms for quick delivery services to meet demand and keep up with competitors.
Rise of Flash Sales Platforms
Another driver of quick e-commerce growth has been flash sales platforms specializing in urgent, time-sensitive deals. Sites like GoJane, Rue La La and Gilt Groupe pioneered this model over a decade ago, with daily limited-time discounts on apparel, accessories, home goods and more. More recently, new vertical-specific platforms have emerged focused entirely on fast delivery – Glossy for beauty products, CornerShop for snacks received within one hour.
These “ultra-fast” sales emphasize speed as a unique value proposition. Customers enjoy steep discounts but must order within a narrow window, often just a few hours, to benefit. This creates a sense of urgency that keeps shoppers engaged. For merchants as well, flash sales allow clearing excess inventory quickly. They also expose new customers to brands in a low-risk way. The prospect of lightning deals delivered at lightning speed has caught on strongly, driving traffic and demand on these niche platforms.
Retailers Enter the Fray
Seeing the popularity of on-demand infrastructure and fulfillment models, major retailers have also jumped into fast commerce. Target launched its own same-day delivery service in 2017 across dozens of cities. Walmart partnered with Uber to deliver grocery and general merchandise within two hours. Best Buy, too, introduced in-store pickup and swift delivery for electronics and appliances.
As supply chains optimized over the past 5 years, retailers were able to adopt a distributed warehouse model to store inventory closer to customers. This enabled 2-day, and in some cases same-day, shipping nationally for an extensive catalog even during retail surges like holidays. Large brands like Nike, Sephora and Dick’s Sporting Goods now leverage both their own infrastructure as well as multi-carrier partnerships for rapid fulfillment.
The pandemic further accelerated this trend as consumers increasingly opted for contactless delivery over in-store shopping during lockdowns. Major retailers saw quick commerce as an opportunity to engage apprehensive customers and compete vigorously with nimbler pure-play e-commerce brands. The importance of fast, flexible fulfillment rose dramatically, driving widespread investment in fulfillment center networks, buy-online-pickup-in-store capabilities as well as final-mile delivery technology over the past year.
Challenges and Opportunities Ahead
While quick e-commerce found immense tailwinds during the health crisis, continuing growth will depend on addressing emerging issues. Labor shortages and rising wages may challenge the economics of rapid delivery. Customers’ expectations of instant gratification also raise concerns around excessive consumption, packaging waste and pedestrian conflicts. Moreover, profitability remains elusive for many pure-play startups in a low-margin, asset-heavy business.
However, as customer attachment to ease and convenience strengthens, the opportunities are vast. Super apps combining delivery, payments and other services can further drive engagement on a single platform. Supply chain partnerships will be crucial to optimize joint capacity utilization when inventory is stored nearby. Advanced predictive analytics holds promise to anticipate demand spikes, recommend relevant local inventory and optimize routes preemptively.
Ultimately, mainstreaming of same-day, gig-based fulfillment could profoundly change how retailers, merchants and customers interact, promising enormous benefits for all. Quick commerce is bound to witness far-reaching innovation and deal-making as businesses master its enduring opportunities and mitigate risks, cementing its viability as a mainstream retail format in the post-pandemic world.
Overall, Over the past decade, technological innovation, shifting customer preferences and competitive threats by pure e-commerce players pushed leading retailers to rapidly adopt quick commerce capabilities. On-demand delivery platforms, flash sales sites as well as major retailers’ fast fulfillment initiatives established extremely speedy shipping and pickups as an expectation rather than a novelty. While challenges around scaling, efficiency and sustainability remain, quick commerce has emerged as a powerful driver of online retail worldwide. With refinement of supply chains and demand anticipation systems, it is poised to further embed its prominence in tomorrow’s retail landscape.
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- Source: CoherentMI, Public sources, Desk research
- We have leveraged AI tools to mine information and compile it