“From iceberg lettuce to ice-cold beer, get what you want (or need) in minutes,” says Getir’s home page. And that, in essence, is the core proposition of q (quick)-commerce. Also called ‘on-demand delivery’ and ‘e-grocery.’
Operating from ‘dark hubs’ in major conurbations, think of these apps as hyper-convenience stores – you want it, we got it, and can deliver it to your door right away.
During the pandemic, q-commerce companies raised billions from bullish investors; believing that the mass hibernation of the planet and the swing towards W.F.H. meant ‘superfast delivery’ was retail’s future.
But times change, and nowhere faster than in the consumer sector. Many of those nascent apps have already closed.
Now, the sector is consolidating. Leaving Istanbul-based start-up Getir, US-based Gopuff, and Germany’s Flink as its major players. Getir’s $1.2bn acquisition of rival Gorillas is undoubtedly part of that power play. As everyone knows, in retail economies of scale generally mean bigger is better.
“From iceberg lettuce to ice-cold beer, get what you want (or need) in minutes,” says Getir’s home page. And that, in essence, is the core proposition of q (quick)-commerce. Also called ‘on-demand delivery’ and ‘e-grocery.’
Operating from ‘dark hubs’ in major conurbations, think of these apps as hyper-convenience stores – you want it, we got it, and can deliver it to your door right away.
During the pandemic, q-commerce companies raised billions from bullish investors; believing that the mass hibernation of the planet and the swing towards W.F.H. meant ‘superfast delivery’ was retail’s future.
But times change, and nowhere faster than in the consumer sector. Many of those nascent apps have already closed.
Now, the sector is consolidating. Leaving Istanbul-based start-up Getir, US-based Gopuff, and Germany’s Flink as its major players. Getir’s $1.2bn acquisition of rival Gorillas is undoubtedly part of that power play. As everyone knows, in retail economies of scale generally mean bigger is better.
According to the FT, the deal “brings together two of Europe’s biggest beneficiaries of the pandemic boom in start-up financing.” And industry experts think it makes sound commercial sense.
Quaid Combstock, Jiffy’s former Head of Delivery Operations, for one. “There needs to be some focus on M&A to make the market sustainable,” he told The Grocer, “…the orders are being split between too many companies, thus there is not enough density per company.”
But Combstock believes that q-commerce’s path to profitability still has challenges to surmount. “In simple terms, q-commerce can be profitable if the same rider is taking multiple orders and delivering them in or around the same vicinity,” he explained. “This drives down the travel time between each order, thus heavily reducing the labour cost to the company.
Like those early investors, Getir’s founder, Nazim Salur is more bullish. Telling the FT, “The super-fast grocery delivery industry will steadily grow for many years to come and Getir will lead this category it created seven years ago.”
Will quick-commerce thrive? Somewhat fittingly, only time can tell.