It seems that nowadays - full of rush and hurry, the natural development for eCommerce is Q-commerce. What is it and will it soon enter our everyday lives?
Again, we have to go back to 2020 and the beginning of the pandemic. As we all know very well by now, it has made the growth of eCommerce industry quite revolutionary. Consumers have already convinced themselves of comfort and security of online shopping. What are they missing? The speed!
And this is where Q-commerce comes in (also called as quick commerce). Quick shopping, sometimes called same-day delivery (guaranteeing delivery on the same day when you place an order) is slowly starting to make its mark on the Polish market as well. An example can be the Polish eCommerce giant, Allegro. The company took over the courier company X-press Couriers in order to implement Q-commerce. Also interesting in this respect is the development of e-grocery, i.e. food industry. Frisco, e-Carrefour, e-piotripawel - in the network of stores carrying out q-commerce, we will find both those that have their stationary counterparts, as well as those operating from the beginning in online world.
Q-commerce – how does it work?
The trend of fast shopping is obviously very attractive from the consumers' perspective. Until now, ordering gifts, groceries or clothes involved advance planning. Today it may become completely spontaneous. All thanks to changes in logistics processes. How does eCommerce industry cope with a new challenge?
One of the solutions are dark stores, i.e. extensive networks of warehouses that enable quick delivery to a selected point. This is how Amazon operates in the U.S. and in Poland, among others, Barbora and Swyft, which delivers groceries in... 15 minutes!
However, before other dark stores began to spring up on the domestic market, entrepreneurs used (and many still use) courier services by hiring their own or by cooperating with external companies. This is how e.g. Biedronka operates (from which you can order products via Glovo).
Does Q-commerce have a chance to be adopted on the Polish market?
Temporary trend or permanent change? Analysts predict that Q-commerce could have a difficult start in Poland. Despite the pandemic, Polish consumers are still strongly attached to stationary shopping. The removal of pandemic restrictions has clearly demonstrated that we still like and are eager to shop offline.
However, this does not mean that quick shopping will not be adopted by us at all. Many experts predict that Q-commerce will become a premium paid service. The logistical costs, especially for smaller companies, will be huge - so consumers will most likely have to pay for faster delivery.
The second threat to the development of Q-commerce is huge number of stationary grocery stores. For most of us, going to the grocery store doesn't take much time anyway - after all, we can find Żabka and Biedronka discounts on each corner.
Nevertheless, it is advisable to monitor this trend and keep an eye on the situation. Q-commerce (whether in a premium or standard version) will certainly increase customers satisfaction and make them more likely to return to a company that focuses not only on quality, but also on speed of delivery.
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