Quick commerce threatens businesses of traditional retailers, distributors

With the rise in quick commerce in the country, the distributor’s body has called out the threat to the businesses of over 1.3 crore retailers and 8 lakh distributors, who have alleged that predatory pricing, anti-competitive practices, and deep discounting by quick commerce companies are impacting their business.

“Thirty per cent of my business was impacted in 2024 because of quick commerce,” said Praful Punamchand Jain, an FMCG distributor based in Maharashtra.

According to NielsenIQ, despite a slowdown in the top eight metros, e-commerce continues to disrupt buying behaviour.

“The orders I received from outlets in 2024 are substantially less than I got in 2023. This is because of the uptick in quick commerce channels. The de-growth in the business continues and my business is facing the heat. Quick commerce is majorly seen in metro and large cities, where Kirana shops and retail outlets are impacted. The entire ecosystem of sales and distribution is witnessing a decline in the cities. If the government does not enforce regulations, the distributors across the country will suffer,” said Praful Punamchand Jain.

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NielsenIQ estimates reveal that during the December quarter traditional trade contributed 89 per cent to the FMCG industry sales and modern trade contributed 11 per cent share.

“Our business is down by 18-19 per cent in this fiscal compared to last fiscal. We are feeling the pinch because of the deep discounting practices of quick commerce platforms in the top cities and towns which is forcefully changing consumer behaviour. Traditional retail stores are being replaced by dark stores and distributors are being replaced by the mother warehouses of these quick commerce platforms,” said Sumit Aggarwal, Director, of Sampoorn Marketing, an FMCG Distribution house headquartered in Noida.

Sales challenges

The quick commerce market in India is expected to exhibit a CAGR of 16.60 per cent between 2025-2029, leading to a projected market volume of $9,951.00 million with the country reaching 60.6 million users by 2029, according to Stastica.

Distributors have also accused the quick commerce players of violating FDI norms. The impact of quick commerce is not only limited to distributors but also the front-line sales team in FMCG and retail space. The sales team and area sales managers are recruited keeping in mind the number of distributors; a complete chain ofpeople are at risk of losing their livelihood, stated Ganeshraam, a distributor based in Tamil Nadu.

Retailers and distributors come together

The All-India Consumer Products Distributors Federation represents over 4,00,000 distributors that have launched a nationwide campaign against the growth of quick and e-commerce in the country. The body along with retailers will organise meetings in 500 districts and 700 talukas by March 31 to devise measures to combat the impact on the business.

“It is crucial that the government intervene to ensure a level playing field and that the growth of e-commerce in India is balanced and does not come at the cost of traditional retail. As per estimates traditional retail has lost nearly 4 to 5 per cent of share contributor to the overall FMCG market to alternative channels,” said Dhairyashil Patil, National President of All India Consumer Products Distributors Federation (AICPDF).