New Delhi, Sept. 14 -- Quick commerce was built on speed-the promise of groceries in minutes. But the sector is now retooling that model to make consumers stay longer, layering in games, contests and interactive campaigns. Platforms such as Swiggy Instamart, Blinkit and Zepto are leaning on gamification as both a marketing lever and a retention tool, even as they push harder on advertising to break out of a loss-making rut.

Quick commerce drives higher frequency but smaller baskets: 5-6 monthly purchases averaging Rs.400-500 versus 3-4 at Rs.800-900 for regular e-commerce. Quick commerce offers real-time, highly granular campaign tracking, while e-commerce data is real-time but less detailed. Both give strong advertisement-led visibility...