Salient points
- The demand for hyperlocal warehouses in India is overcoming the offer, led by rapid trade platforms such as Blinkit, Zepto, Swiggy Instamart and Bigbasket now aim to provide products within 10-15 minutes.
- As the rapid trade companies expand, spaces underutilized such as old neighborhood shops and service apartments in efforts in efficient micro-phullfillment centers are being reused, which are essential to meet the growing demand for rapid consumers of rapid delivery.
- The experts in the sector provide that India will require over 12-15 million square feet of small format storage in the next three years to support the expected growth of the rapid trade sector, which should reach $ 5.5 billion by 2025.
The rapid trade segment (Q-commerce) in India is feeding a rapid increase in the demand for small hyperlocal warehouses that exceed the offer. While platforms such as Blinkit, Zepto, Swiggy Instamart and BigBasket now run to satisfy deliveries within 10-15 minutes, the construction centers of the last mile-united in basements, small plots and urban properties underutilized-toilets critical infrastructures through the cities of the subway and level 2 positions.
According to experts, the question is three times that of the new wave of hyperlocal warehouses, often no longer larger than 2,000 to 8000 square feet, located in dense residential neighborhoods. In addition, the spaces underutilized-like old neighborhood shops, deceased service apartments and offices for offices on the ground-none convert in hub of highly efficient and profitable microfilments. This
“Strategic reuse allows the establishment of a dense network of hyper-room fulfillment centers, bringing the inventory to the customer who never. This model not only optimizes delivery times in a few minutes, but significantly reduces the logistical costs of the last mile, the South-East.The business model behind the quick delivery is based on the rapid turnover of the inventory and the proximity to the customer base. As a result, companies are renting more small -format spaces instead of large centralized hubs. Each warehouse generally serves a 2-3 km radius, allowing delivery within 10-12 minutes. These micro-phullment micro-phullfilment centers estimate rapidly movement consumer goods (FMCG), fresh products, snacks and drinks that can be delivered in a few minutes to positioning orders. In addition, lack of financial visibility for the owner and large companies are difficult to attract a complaint property.
According to JP Morgan, a blinkit owned by Zomato and Swiggy Instamart are accelerating the rhythm of the expansion of the Dark Store network, while the Zepto tied to the IPO is slowing down. Previously he said in 2024 that the total count of the dark shops will reach 700 March 2025.A recent research note of a global intermediation company said that both Blinkit and Instamart added over 150 dark shops during the January-February period, while Zepto has undergone a slowdown in his additions to Dark Store. The intermediation estimates that Blinkit currently manages the largest network of dark shops in the country, with about 1,229 stores, exceeding Zepto, which has 1,147 dark shops. Furthermore, according to what reported, these companies have reduced the average delivery time less than 10 minutes to over 70% of their active areas.
“The Q-commerce companies are no longer only tenants; they are now driving the question and influencing micro-markets,” says Vijay Ganesh, CEO, Industrial & Logistics Services, Colliers India. “We are witnessing an increase in leasing activity in areas such as Andheri (Mumbai), Koramangala (Bengaluru) and Kukatpally (Hyderabad), where also the retail parking spaces on the ground floor and at a minimum are converted into dark shops.”
While the Metros remain the outbreaks of the trade activity Q, the next wave of growth is firmly rooting in level 2 cities such as Jaipur, coimettor, Nagpur, Lucknow and Surat. The best digital penetration, the increase in available income and the demand for consumers for convenience are guiding the expansion beyond the traditional six cities.
Coimbatore and release are witnessing a peak in short-term lease contracts for 1,500-3,000 square feet. These are not only storage agreements: they are hybrid agreements with retail owners in search of constant rentals in areas of high -content fall.
Local developers and real estate investors in these cities are increasingly converting properties underutilized in dark shop formats. In Jaipur, for example, a former banquet room near Mansarovar has recently been re -proposed in a 24/7 construction hub for a food delivery company, generating a 20% higher rental performance than its previous use.
Like the first integrated supply chain infrastructure platform of India, Conspace has created its first format of this type-in-ins The conspire is reducing this model through the main metros to unlock the proximity, reduce delivery times, support the hyper -room fulfillment and feed the future of the logistics of the last mile. “” Designed for high efficiency delivery with functionality such as loading elevators, EV top -up and solar panels, it is aimed at the rapid rapid trade market expected to triple by 2027
The rise of hypertean deposit also has a strong impact on rental dynamics in urban pockets. Rental for spaces on the ground floor in areas of residential mixed-commercial use increased by 10-18% in key micromarket since 2023, according to Knight Frank.
“We believe that the future of urban logistics resides in the centers of warehouse and micro fulfillment in the city of Grado A,” said Vamsi di Sumadhura. “With the Boom of Q-commerce trade that guides the demand for over 10 dark shops for Cluster in some Metros, there is a clear need for optimized, compliant and scalable urban logistics hubs. We are witnessing a strong traction for shared 3PL platforms and our goal is to build spaces for the construction of a value for the day, and our goal is to build a long-lasting value to a value of a day for the construction of a Long-lasting value during the day for the construction of a day value in a flexible and multi-tenant way.
According to experts, the demand for hyperlocal warehouses is ready to grow in tandem with the trade sector q, which should reach $ 5.5 billion by 2025, according to Redseer Consulting. The estimates of the sector suggest that India may require over 12-15 million square feet of small format storage space in the next three years to satisfy the demand for delivery from urban consumers and level 2.
For developers, especially in the metropolises bound on the ground, this opens a new path of monetization. Old commercial buildings, retail shops and autonomous houses can also be repositioned as micro-hubs that generate revenue.
“The dark shops thrive on speed and efficiency, generally with only 2-3 days of inventory to satisfy the quick turnover of the orders. Their ability to pay higher rentals is guided by the position: the delivery time and the scope of the family are more than dimensions. With limited organized offer, at work level, at the level of work, retail level.
As the 10 -minute delivery tender heats up, the real estate sector of India is not only enabling the change: being transformed by it. The fresh trade platforms initially focused on food, fresh products and essential elements are now diversifying their offers to include electronics and personal care items, among other products. “
