From Our Print Edition

“The blunt truth is that the vast majority of quick commerce companies had business models that were broken from the very start because the cost of the service they provide is not covered by fees consumers pay. On top of that, quick commerce is a solution that went in search of a problem. The vast majority of people do not absolutely need things delivered in minutes. They will take the service if it is cheap and readily available, but they won’t pay high fees for it. As so many companies piled into the space during the pandemic, there will now be quite a few casualties.” — Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData4, commenting on a report by retailwire.com that two rapid-delivery grocery firms had shuttered in the same week.