Is Q-Commerce the Next Big Beauty Opportunity in India?

Prisha Nagpal started buying makeup and toiletries on quick commerce platforms as soon as they were available in her central Delhi neighbourhood three years ago. “Amazon used to be the fastest way for me to get a lot of this stuff, but it still takes two days even with Prime so the reason I [switched to] q-commerce apps like Zepto and Blinkit was urgency, in case I needed something immediately. Plus there are a lot of deals on these apps,” said the 20-year-old student.

Nagpal, who spends about 3,000-4,000 rupees ($35-$45) a month on beauty and personal care, concedes that she still prefers to buy products like foundation and concealers at physical stores, such as Nykaa, Sephora, and Reliance-owned Tira Beauty. However, for eyeshadow, blush and “essentials” like lip gloss and deodorant, she regularly uses quick commerce apps.

Millions of urban Indians like her use quick commerce (or ‘q-commerce’) apps, which promise delivery in just 10-20 minutes, for everything from groceries to electronics and makeup to toys. Around 31 percent of online shoppers in urban India now rely on them for groceries, according to a recent NielsenIQ survey. Apps like Zepto, Blinkit and Instamart typically stock products in ‘dark stores’ or warehouses, located close to densely populated areas in big cities making it possible to fulfil orders fast.

“The kind of acceptance that the [q-commerce] channel has now is strong and beyond convenience. The product quality and the quality of the experience has significantly improved,” Deloitte India partner Praveen Govindu told BoF. “The availability of [new] categories is also driving growth.”

In the beauty category, q-commerce app Zepto lists products from both local and international legacy brands such as Maybelline, L’Oréal and Lakmé, alongside newer entrants like Mamaearth, Renée Cosmetics and Sugar Cosmetics. Rival app Blinkit, which more than doubled its annual revenue to 2,301 crore rupees ($274 million) this year, stocks similar brands in addition to premium products from the likes of L’Occitane and Forest Essentials.

“Quick commerce is not a passing trend, it’s a clear indication of shifting consumer behaviour especially among younger audiences. They prioritise the simplicity of ordering, fast delivery, and the convenience of having their favourite products readily available,” said Samir Krishan Modi, founder and managing director of Colorbar Cosmetics.

Despite its popularity in major cities like Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru, q-commerce is a relatively new concept in India, first gaining traction during the pandemic.

Bengaluru-based Dunzo was an early mover in the Indian sector offering 20-minute deliveries, but it was quickly overshadowed by companies like Mumbai-based Zepto, founded in 2021, and Blinkit (previously Grofers), which was acquired by food delivery giant Zomato in 2022. Rival Swiggy was also an early mover with Instamart, launched in 2020. Tata-backed BigBasket joined the quick commerce bandwagon with BBNow in 2022.

Most q-commerce transactions in India take place through these dedicated apps, unlike instant retail services in Europe which are often part of a supermarket’s e-commerce platform or a pharmacy chain partnership with food apps like Deliveroo and Uber Eats. Turkey’s Getir experimented with 10-minute deliveries in both the US and Europe, but the on-demand shopping app is exiting those markets amid slow demand in the grocery category.

In India, however, factors like high population density, creaking urban infrastructure and low delivery costs are supporting growth in a sector that has also seen strong uptake in other Asian countries including China, where q-commerce for beauty products thrives on apps like Meituan.

Between 2022 and 2023, the gross merchandise value (GMV) of the overall q-commerce market in India grew 77 percent to $2.8 billion, according to Redseer Strategy Consultants. The consultancy expects the market to grow 40-45 percent over the next three years.

The Need for Speed

In some ways, quick commerce is a natural fit with the beauty and personal care sector, suggests Devangshu Dutta, founder and CEO of retail consultancy Third Eyesight. Although customers may need some of these products repeatedly and urgently, they often feel that stepping outdoors to buy a single item is too time-consuming and inconvenient to be worth the trip. This is why “focussing on specific high-demand healthy margin items can be a win-win [for both brands and apps],” said Dutta.

Interestingly, q-commerce in the beauty segment has experienced 1.5 times higher annual growth than in personal care since 2021, according to Zepto president Vinay Dhanani.

“Top-selling products include kajal, lipstick, foundation, concealer and mascara, with an average order value of 500-600 rupees ($6-$7). As quick commerce expands into the luxury segment and focuses on cross-sell and upsell opportunities, this average is expected to exceed 1,000 rupees ($12) soon,” Dhanani said.

Some early adopter brands in the premium segment say they benefit from being on q-commerce apps because of the smaller assortment compared to e-commerce platforms.

“It’s good for us [because the apps] advertise so much [that] we come to the top of people’s recall. [And premium brands like us are] good for them because it’s a higher ticket value,” said Vivek Sahni, founder of Kama Ayurveda, an ayuverdic beauty and personal care brand based on India’s ancient philosophy of holistic healing.

In just two years, q-commerce has become the fastest growing retail channel for beauty players like GoodGlamm Group, owner of MyGlamm and other brands, which went from a partnership with one app to three.

“We start with the top 20-30 products that we have for each [of our] brands. Then, depending on the demand that gets created on these platforms, we keep [tweaking] the product [offering],” said Bhavesh Singhal, chief business officer for online at Good Glamm Group describing how the company expanded from Blinkit to Zepto and then Instamart.

“There’s an 80 percent similarity between what sells on Amazon and quick commerce, but 20 percent differs because of [user] behaviour. For example, the gifting category is much bigger on quick commerce than on Amazon. Quick commerce is also slightly more premium compared to other marketplaces, but the assortment is limited,” he added.

Brand leaders find themselves experimenting with the q-commerce sector as it evolves, adapting their approach and pivoting abruptly when needed.

“We didn’t [originally] think quick commerce would need upsized products, but consumers are displaying pantry stocking behaviour [on the apps]. It’s not just about speed… Consumers are buying… larger packs, gifting [items] and more premium products as the confidence and familiarity go up,” said Shankar Prasad, founder of beauty and personal care brand Plum, which sells products like face wash, moisturisers, serums, sunscreen and lip care on all major q-commerce apps.

Consumer behaviour varies across brands of differing value segments and types. For Jaipur-based brand Minimalist, which lists 37 SKUs on q-commerce apps, the channel is still predominantly used for meeting customers’ urgent, last-minute needs. “We avoid listing highly niche products. We prioritise products such as moisturisers, cleansers, shampoos, and roll-ons…that are frequently used and easy for consumers to select without requiring extensive research,” said co-founder Mohit Yadav.

FMCG companies with significant holdings in personal care and beauty brands are also partnering with quick commerce companies or expanding their available product ranges. Hindustan Unilever, owner of brands like Lakmé and Dove, and ITC, which has Fiama and Dermafique, are both increasingly active.

Sameer Satpathy, divisional CEO of personal care products at ITC, says the company is seeing a notable uptick in demand from quick commerce, with the trend especially strong for repeat purchase and everyday essentials like personal wash, skincare, health and hygiene, and fragrances.

Q-Commerce vs E-Commerce

India’s overall beauty and personal care market was valued at $16.4 billion in 2023, with online transactions accounting for $1.5 billion, according to Euromonitor. It’s hard to determine how much of this quick commerce accounts for but brands say they are noticing considerable sales growth in the channel. Plum, for example, says quick commerce now contributes about 13-18 percent of total online sales.

The beauty category on quick commerce platforms is still small compared to groceries and household essentials, but all major players are pumping more money into expansion plans, including category extension. Having raised $665 million in a June funding round and $340 million in August, Zepto is increasing the number of dark stores it operates and expanding to more cities.

Blinkit plans to expand its total store count to 2,000 in India’s top 10 cities, from 639 stores currently, according to CEO Albinder Dhindsa in parent Zomato’s recent shareholders’ letter. “We will continue to invest behind opportunities in https://www.businessoffashion.com/articles/beauty/how-homegrown-indian-brands-plan-new-launches/ categories,” he said, noting that the company’s average gross order value (GOV) per store per day reached 10 lakh rupees ($11,910) in its latest financial year, up from 600,000 rupees ($7,146) a year earlier.

It is unclear how much of the growth in q-commerce is new demand versus demand that shifted away from traditional e-commerce channels, but some aspects of consumer behaviour are evolving in ways that should benefit q-commerce in the long run.

“People are not planning in advance [as much as before and new] habits are forming…For example, if I’m travelling and missing a particular product, I can use Blinkit to get it at my hotel. After that it becomes the norm,” said Singhal, adding that products like the group’s feminine hygiene brand Sirona sell well on q-commerce apps.

Growing demand for rapid delivery hasn’t gone unnoticed by major e-commerce players like Amazon and Flipkart either. India’s largest e-commerce firm, Walmart-owned Flipkart, recently launched its own quick commerce service called Flipkart Minutes in parts of Bengaluru, reportedly offering steeper discounts compared to incumbents Zepto, Blinkit and Instamart. Meanwhile, Amazon India is believed to be increasing investment in same-day deliveries.

Beauty and fashion retailer Nykaa, which lists some of its products on q-commerce apps, is also working on faster inhouse deliveries. In its latest quarterly call, Nykaa Beauty CEO Anchit Nayar said that 50 percent of all orders placed on the Nykaa app from 12 major cities were delivered either the same or next day, during the first quarter of the 2025 financial year. In October, the company reportedly launched a 10-minute delivery pilot in select locations in Mumbai.

One major constraint for the q-commerce sector is that the current model only works in big cities and dense catchments with Deloitte’s Govindu suggesting that it only makes sense to have a dark warehouse for 5,000-10,000 households in an area of about 2-3 kilometres.

“Since the scale [of e-commerce sales] is much, much higher…I don’t think it’s a fair comparison to ask whether a specific category in quick commerce will actually surpass [its counterpart] category in e-commerce,” said Deloitte’s Govindu. “It [might happen one day for certain categories] but it won’t happen in the next 1-2 years.”

Either way, q-commerce is establishing itself as an increasingly important retail channel for the beauty and personal care sector. Flush with investor funding and brimming with consumer approval, quick commerce firms are now venturing into fashion too, albeit in modest ways with companies like Zepto and Blinkit stocking T-shirts and sandals.

“Fashion is more tricky – gross margins may be higher at the product level, but making it work as a consistent offering due to the width and depth [of the offering needed including sizes] doesn’t lend itself to the quick-commerce ethos and business model,” said Dutta.

That hasn’t stopped fashion players from getting in on the action. Activewear retailer Decathlon signed with Zepto for 16 cities in September, fashion e-tailer Newme recently launched a pilot program to deliver its products in 90 minutes around Delhi and fashion e-commerce giant Myntra is reportedly considering trialling a four-hour delivery service in four cities.

Paradoxically, all this enthusiasm for the rapid delivery sector has some enthusiastic q-commerce customers a bit worried. Nagal says she wants both apps and brands to proceed with caution and never compromise on speed for the sake of a larger offering. “As a consumer, I want abundant choice, but not exhaustingly abundant.”