Quick Commerce Is Quietly Becoming a Retail Media Giant
- 7 hours ago
- 3 min read
The 10-minute grocery app is evolving into something much bigger.
Most people still think of quick commerce primarily as a logistics innovation: groceries delivered in minutes through dense networks of dark stores.
But behind the scenes, another shift is happening.
Quick commerce platforms are increasingly becoming retail media businesses, and many brands have not fully processed what that means yet.
Advertising Is Growing Faster Than Most People Realize
Over the past year, advertising rates on quick commerce platforms have increased significantly. Platforms like Zepto and Amazon Now have been pushing aggressive monetisation, while sponsored placements have expanded across product listings.
The numbers already point to a meaningful shift.
Today:
Roughly 70% of platform revenue still comes from seller commissions
Around 9–11% now comes from advertising
Advertising alone already generates an estimated ₹3,000–3,500 crore annually
Ad revenues are expected to grow 30–40% this year
This trajectory closely resembles what happened earlier with large ecommerce marketplaces, where advertising eventually became one of the most profitable parts of the business.
Quick commerce appears to be moving in the same direction.
Why Quick Commerce Advertising Is Different
What makes advertising on quick commerce platforms particularly powerful is something that could be called intent density.
Different digital platforms sit at different points in the consumer decision journey.
On social platforms like Instagram, brands try to build desire and awareness.On search platforms like Google or marketplaces like Amazon, they capture consumers actively looking for products.
Quick commerce operates even closer to the final purchase moment.
When someone opens a quick commerce app, they are usually not browsing casually. They already need something.
The intent is extremely high. But the decision window is also extremely short.
Consumers often choose a product within seconds. That makes quick commerce less like traditional advertising media and more like moment-of-need media.
The Categories Driving Ad Spend
Not all product categories benefit equally from this type of advertising environment.
More than 70% of orders on quick commerce platforms are replenishment-driven, which means consumers are restocking products they already know.
This is why categories like the following dominate advertising spend:
FMCG staples
OTC healthcare products
snacks and beverages
personal care items
These are products consumers frequently reorder, making them ideal candidates for sponsored placements during high-intent purchase moments.
The Growing Tension Around Ad Load
As advertising becomes a larger revenue stream, platforms face a delicate balance.
Increasing the number of sponsored placements can boost short-term revenue, but it also creates new challenges.
If ad load rises too aggressively, several problems emerge:
consumers experience more friction in product discovery
brands see diminishing returns from advertising
smaller brands struggle to compete with larger advertising budgets
This pattern has already played out on major ecommerce marketplaces.
The difference with quick commerce is the speed of decision-making.
On a typical ecommerce website, consumers might spend several minutes comparing products.
On quick commerce apps, the decision window is often measured in seconds.
That means even small changes in visibility can significantly influence which products get purchased.
Shrinking Organic Visibility
One of the most noticeable changes over the past year has been the growth in sponsored product slots.
Earlier, sponsored listings were relatively limited.
In many cases, you would see roughly one sponsored product in every four or five listings.
Today, on several quick commerce platforms, that ratio has shifted dramatically. In some search and category views, one out of every two listings is now sponsored.
This represents a substantial reduction in organic visibility for brands.
Products that once appeared naturally in search results now compete directly with paid placements.
A New Kind of Retail Media
All of this suggests that quick commerce is evolving into something more than just a sales channel.
It is becoming a high-intent advertising environment.
Unlike traditional digital advertising, which often targets consumers earlier in the decision journey, quick commerce advertising operates at the moment when a purchase decision is about to happen.
That combination of high intent and extremely short decision windows makes this ad inventory particularly powerful.
But it also makes the ecosystem more complex for brands trying to balance visibility, profitability, and long-term growth.