Quick commerce: ‘Indians most impatient online shoppers worldwide; want delivery in 2 hours’
Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: Many Indians, always in a hurry to catch up with the rest of the world and adapt to novelty, are the most impatient e-commerce shoppers, who want their stuff to be delivered within just two hours, a global survey said.
Indians are the world’s most impatient online shoppers, with nearly 38 percent of consumers expecting their deliveries in less than two hours, vis-à-vis their global counterparts, according to the Wunderman Thompson Commerce and Technology’s Future Shopper Report 2023.
“Indian customers love fast delivery, which is the fundamental realization at the heart of our business,” the media reported, quoting Aadit Palicha, co-founder of quick commerce platform Zepto.
This is remarkably obvious in customer retention data, survey data, and even in regular conversations that his company has with customers, he said.
Even within the online shopping space, several quick grocery platforms have emerged in India, promising a time-bound delivery. They include Swiggy Instamart, Blinkit, Dunzo, Big Basket Now, and Zepto, which have all built their fortunes by delivering groceries to customers in an average 30-minute time frame.
While the quick delivery model is still evolving, they claim it has already grown at breakneck speed, the media reported.
“Demand and growth in quick commerce are not difficult when compared to building capabilities and infrastructure to support it. This segment is the fastest growing within technology-led retail, commerce, and service, with no signs of slowing,” Palicha said.
At 45 percent, India ranks first among all other countries in terms of the highest percentage of digital products purchased online.
With such a high percentage of purchases made online, there is even more pressure to provide positive experiences.
According to Wunderman Thompson, 72 percent of consumers worldwide said they will not shop with retailers, brands, or marketplaces that do not meet their expectations.
But Indians tend to do and they also return more than a third of products (37 percent), making them the second-highest returners by country after the UAE, the report added.
“With the arrival of AI and the huge amounts of data now collected on individuals ‘post-consumerism’ is a concept that refers to carrying on purchasing from beyond the grave via uploading ‘personalities’ to the cloud or being brought back to life virtually via an avatar,” the report said.
The report said the cost of mobile internet data, in India, is among the lowest globally, with consumers benefiting from free trials and massively slashed prices, a key reason why online shopping has leapfrogged.
Thailand (77 percent) and India (72 percent) rank highest as the percentage of consumers who have changed shopping habits because of concerns about global warming and the environment.
The report sheds light on the habits of online shoppers and shopping behavior across 18 international markets, including India, and 31,000 consumers.
It observed that post-pandemic, the future of retail is ‘steadfastly being shaped by digital,’ as shoppers envision a future where nearly two-thirds (64 percent) of their shopping will be online in the next ten years.
Brands are closing the gap on marketplaces with online spending doubling through direct-to-consumer (D2C) channels, from 7 percent in 2022 to 14 percent in 2023, and brands should look to review their online sales models, with more than 58 percent of global shoppers preferring to buy from branded marketplaces.
