Slikk has secured $3.2 million in seed funding from Lightspeed Ventures to scale its 60-minute supply mannequin, whereas NEWME, which raised $18 million in its collection A spherical, plans to supply 30-60 minute deliveries in Bengaluru and different metros.
“We will likely be prepared to supply between 30-minute to 60-minute supply in a whole lot of metro cities in a few months and that is a giant precedence for us,” mentioned Sumit Jasoria, co-founder of NEWME.
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The rationale behind these fast supply fashions is straightforward: on-line trend shopping for has sometimes been event-driven, however impulsive purchases nonetheless skew towards offline retail. The query stays: Can the economics of pace maintain up in a fiercely aggressive and capital-intensive market?
The gamble on pace
Each startups—Slikk and NEWME—are betting they will redefine trend e-commerce by providing supply instances that rival these of meals supply platforms. Myntra’s 30-minute ‘M-Now’ and Flipkart’s 8–16-minute ‘Minutes’ have already set the tone for immediate trend gratification, with each corporations specializing in ultra-quick deliveries.
The logic is simple: Whereas on-line trend shopping for has sometimes been event-driven, impulse purchases proceed to be dominated by offline retail.
By operating darkish shops stocked with fast-moving attire for hyperlocal supply, Slikk and NEWME supply deliveries inside 60–90 minutes—considerably quicker than Myntra or Flipkart, which normally ship in 1–3 days as a result of their centralized stock fashions.
“In the event you can collapse the supply, return and refund cycle from 7-10 days to 60-90 minutes, the complete psyche of the client modifications,” mentioned Akshay Gulati, co-founder of Slikk.
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Particular figures for trend inside fast commerce are scarce, however in response to Bain & Firm, India’s quick-commerce market is anticipated to develop over 40% yearly till 2030, accounting for 10% of complete e-retail spending.
“The Indian e-retail market has surged to roughly $60 billion in gross merchandise worth,” the report added.
The curation play
Central to this mannequin is the concept that not all trend is created equal.
“This complete business has run on a dropship, asset-light mannequin,” mentioned Gulati. “However we’re making use of a 20-80 precept in trend: your prime 20% of kinds drive 80% of your income. You’ll be able to have 10,000 gadgets, however it’s the highest 2,000 that basically transfer the needle.”
NEWME’s mannequin is much more targeted, claiming that 90% of its gross sales come from simply 10% of its kinds. To take care of freshness, NEWME drops new collections each Friday and phases out previous ones, treating kinds nearly like perishable items.
“We need to maintain curation near shoppers. We consider a method like milk—it has an expiry date, lasting simply 60 to 90 days. That’s why each Friday, we launch new collections and kill previous ones. Freshness is core to our price proposition, and that drives very quick stock turnover,” added Jasoria.
Each Slikk and NEWME have distinct methods for addressing unsold stock. Slikk employs a “Attempt to Purchase” mannequin, permitting prospects to attempt on gadgets at supply and return them immediately if unhappy. By prioritizing immediate refunds, returned stock is restocked and rapidly made obtainable for resale.
NEWME operates a near-zero stock mannequin, producing gadgets based mostly on real-time demand knowledge, additional enhancing the agility of its operations.
In accordance with Rahul Taneja, associate at Lightspeed, the agency was drawn by Slikk’s sturdy repeat person behaviour, evident of their month-on-month progress.
“As shopper expectations have modified, every part is desired sooner. And, so, inside fast commerce, you are now seeing verticals emerge-fashion is prime amongst them,” mentioned Taneja.
“As younger professionals enter the workforce and begin incomes, certainly one of their fundamental discretionary spend is in direction of wanting good. It’s seen in magnificence, trend and total Instagram behaviour. That’s a tailwind for the class, which is giant, and the behaviour is repeatable,” he added.
Curation can be turning into essential to shopper decision-making, as customers shift from doom scrolling by means of 1000’s of choices to in search of pace and ease.
“If you wish to ship immediate gratification to shoppers, you even have to assist them discover choices which might be extra related and trendier, to allow them to arrive at a call quicker,” mentioned Taneja.
Can pace pay?
Regardless of the optimism, there are considerations concerning the profitability of the mannequin. Operating darkish shops and providing fast deliveries enhance logistical prices. Quick trend’s dependence on selection additional complicates stock administration.
“I don’t suppose you will be worthwhile by simply being digital,” mentioned Anand Ramanathan, associate shopper business chief at Deloitte. “And, subsequently, the quicker you scale offline and develop offline, the extra chance of success in a quick trend type of setup. Particularly since quick trend has decrease margins than among the extra premium segments,” Ramanathan mentioned.
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“The extra you rely upon fast commerce, the extra the margin bleed there will likely be,” he mentioned, including that success in tier 2 and tier 3 markets will hinge not simply on logistics, however behavioural change and worth technique.
The fast-commerce trend mannequin, which generally operates with excessive burn charges because of the cost-intensive nature of logistics and buyer acquisition, faces profitability challenges. Nevertheless, founders argue that repeat purchases, scale and personal labels will drive profitability over time.
Past the instant shopper attraction, nonetheless, a deeper query arises.
“With restricted regulation, these platforms thrive on psychological nudges: pop-ups, flash reductions and interface methods designed to drive impulse purchases,” mentioned Farheen, coverage and belief analyst on the Superior Research Institute of Asia at SGT College, Delhi.
Farheen remarked that with restricted regulation, these platforms thrive on psychological nudges like pop-ups, flash reductions and varied darkish patterns, which push shoppers to make quick selections with out a lot thought. In accordance with her, it is a complete ecosystem designed to prime the patron to behave on impulse.
The outcomes, she identified, are seen within the type of extra confusion, much less persistence and a heightened sense of immediacy. Past the checkout, there are damaging penalties, together with burnout amongst gig staff, unsustainable waste from quick trend cycles and rising strain on small offline sellers. Whereas fast commerce might make sense for platforms chasing scale, she questioned whether or not it actually works for these collaborating in it.
In the meantime, the challenges of fast commerce prolong past shopper behaviour and logistics. As an example, NEWME is banking on excessive repeat utilization to justify its price construction, with bodily shops appearing as pseudo darkish shops. Jasoria famous that the corporate operates 14 offline shops and plans so as to add 10 to 12 extra by the top of the 12 months.
As Ramanathan factors out, last-mile logistics and darkish retailer operations account for the majority of supply prices, which stay excessive. NEWME’s method of utilizing bodily shops for quicker deliveries provides to operational prices, exposing the startup to dangers like demand volatility.
Fast commerce excels with fundamentals and stylish gadgets however struggles with the “fats center”—the number of much less stylish or extra area of interest gadgets. Managing a variety of inventory conserving models (SKUs) is a problem for trend, as unpredictable demand for stylish gadgets makes stock administration extra complicated, mentioned Ashish Kumar, co-founder at Fundamentum.
Trend, nonetheless, is trickier because of the unpredictable demand for stylish gadgets with brief lifespans.
That is partly why Meesho stays cautious, focusing as an alternative on affordability and long-tail provide methods for tier 2 and three markets, the place worth outweighs pace, in response to Vidit Aatrey, co-founder and chief government officer of Meesho.
Kumar of Fundamentum echoes this concern, saying, “In attire, solely about 40-60% of income comes from a slender set of SKUs, not like grocery the place 80% comes from necessities. Trend shoppers search selection, making the provision chain extra complicated.”
On the similar time, platforms corresponding to Wishlink and Lehlah are capitalizing on the rising development of curated trend, specializing in customized suggestions to drive decision-making and speed up the trail from inspiration to buy.
Fundamentum has invested in Wishlink, a content-commerce platform, whereas Wishlink’s peer, Lehlah, not too long ago raised ₹12.5 crore (~$1.4 million), led by Nikhil Kamath’s funding agency, Gruhas.
Gulati, for now, is much less targeted on profitability. “The important thing success metric for us at this scale is repeat person exercise, not operational revenue,” he mentioned, declining to share particular numbers.
