India, June 13 -- A middle-aged private sector executive living in Delhi remembers making his first tentative order - a hair colour -- on quick-commerce (q-com) platform Blinkit one year ago. Prompt delivery pushed him to gently test the app further for more products such as staples and spices, chips and soft drinks. Last Diwali, he and his wife were thrilled to find fresh flowers on the service and purchased a silver coin, considered auspicious for the occasion. Their most recent purchase, however, has been two potted money plants - which they said arrived in eight minutes.

Much like the Delhi couple, the q-com journey of millions of people in India's top cities have similarly evolved as they add more products to their purchase baskets ...