India's quick commerce sector still has significant room for expansion despite intensifying competition, according to Navin Killa, Head of APAC Telecommunications, Media & Internet at UBS Investment Bank. Speaking at the UBS Asian Investment Conference 2026 in Hong Kong, Killa identified two clear growth levers - higher spending by existing customers and the addition of new users. The sector's growth potential is supported by the fact that quick commerce platforms currently offer as many as 80,000 SKUs in markets like Delhi-NCR, while smaller towns still have much lower product availability, creating substantial room for expansion.
UBS expects another 1,200–1,500 dark stores to be added over the next 12–18 months, potentially taking the total count to nearly 8,000 across India. According to Killa, growth will increasingly come from geographic expansion into smaller cities and broader product assortments. The infrastructure expansion is driven by the sector's ability to absorb significant increases in infrastructure despite concerns around overcrowding in large cities, as reported by CNBC TV18.
On rising competition from deep-pocketed players such as Amazon and Flipkart, Killa noted that the entry of larger platforms could eventually expand the overall market rather than hurt incumbents immediately. While industry growth rates may appear slower on the surface, the pace of new customer additions and order value creation remains healthy. UBS believes that larger listed companies have also continued to post strong customer growth over the last few quarters, despite players like Zepto gaining market share through aggressive offers.
Killa emphasized that quick commerce has not yet reached a stage where only the strongest players will survive. Discounting remains a critical customer acquisition tool, particularly for first-time users who may still be hesitant to try the format. Over time, UBS expects service quality, wider assortment and higher order values to become bigger differentiators than discounts alone, as reported by CNBC TV18.
