Sky News Arabia: Quick commerce platforms facing new challenges

Featured on: Sky News Arabia  I Format: TV Interview I  Date: May 2024
Topic: Quick commerce platforms may face challenges in keeping up with demand
Language: Arabic interview I Original interview: Listen to the interview on Sky News Arabia

When I spoke with Sky News Arabia about the evolution of e-commerce, the conversation quickly moved beyond the idea of simply buying products online.

The bigger shift is about time.

Consumers increasingly want products delivered within hours rather than waiting for days. That is helping drive the transition from traditional e-commerce toward Quick commerce platforms, but faster delivery also means greater pressure on the operations supporting the customer experience.

From E-Commerce to Quick Commerce (Q-Commerce)Platforms

The starting point for the conversation was the transformation that took place during COVID.

In 2020 and 2021, e-commerce experienced unprecedented demand. People were staying at home, physical stores were closed, and consumers increasingly turned to online shopping.

But once people returned to normal life, the market changed again.

The growth did not simply disappear. Instead, the expectation around convenience and speed continued to develop.

This helped move the market from e-commerce toward Quick commerce platforms.

The most obvious difference is the importance of time.

A consumer may once have accepted waiting for days to receive a product. Increasingly, waiting even a few days can become undesirable. The expectation can move toward receiving the product within hours.

For Quick commerce platforms, that creates an opportunity and a challenge at the same time.

From the customer’s perspective, faster delivery can mean a better purchasing experience. From the company’s perspective, it can mean more sales.

But there is another side to that equation.

The shorter the delivery window becomes, the more difficult it becomes to execute the entire process successfully.

The Operational Challenge Behind Quick Commerce Platforms

This was one of the most important points I discussed during the interview.

When a company promises to deliver a product within 20 or 30 minutes, the challenge is not simply transportation.

The product has to be available.

The inventory has to be managed.

The storage needs to support the delivery promise.

And the company’s daily operations need to work efficiently enough to make the entire process possible.

This is where what I referred to as Operations Streamlining, or improving daily operations, becomes important.

Quick commerce platforms can create significant opportunities for companies that are capable of managing these processes effectively.

The companies that can address these operational challenges can increase sales and profits.

The companies that cannot may find it increasingly difficult to remain competitive.

This is why I see operations as one of the most important parts of the Quick commerce platforms model.

The customer sees the application, chooses the product and expects delivery.

But behind that simple experience is an entire operational system.

Inventory Is Part of the Customer Promise

One of the clearest examples is inventory.

If a company promises delivery within 20 or 30 minutes, it needs to have sufficient stock.

That sounds obvious, but it becomes much more important when the delivery window is extremely short.

For Quick commerce platforms, inventory availability is directly connected to the customer experience.

If a product is not available, it may simply not be offered through the platform.

If it is available, the company needs to make sure that its inventory and operations are capable of supporting the promised delivery time.

This is also where local products can become important.

During the interview, I discussed the challenges created by global shipping conditions, political circumstances, the closure of some maritime routes and broader economic pressures affecting shipping companies.

For Quick commerce platforms, these external challenges can create additional pressure.

One fast solution is to rely on local products where possible.

The logic is straightforward: if the product is nearby and available, it becomes easier to support a very short delivery promise.

For products that are not local, such as clothing or some medicines, the issue comes back to storage and operations.

The business has to understand how it can maintain availability while managing the delivery promise.

Customer Experience Still Comes First

It is easy to focus on speed when discussing Quick commerce platforms.

But speed is only one part of the customer experience.

The wider question is whether the customer is satisfied with the experience and whether that experience encourages the customer to return.

That is why I connected the discussion about inventory and operations to Customer Experience.

A company can promise fast delivery, but the promise has to be supported by the actual experience.

This is something I have explored in my previous media work as well.

When I previously discussed customer loyalty and Apple with Sky News Arabia, I focused on the values that contribute to the customer experience, including quality, security and ease of use. Read my analysis of customer loyalty and Apple’s marketing strategy.

The context is different, but the underlying question is similar: what does the customer actually experience?

With Quick commerce platforms, speed becomes part of that experience.

But the product, availability, service and overall interaction still matter.

Physical Stores and Digital Commerce

Another question during the interview was whether physical stores and digital commerce are becoming competitors.

My answer was that the relationship can be both competitive and complementary.

We have seen many physical stores, particularly businesses connected to food and beverages and clothing, reduce the number of physical branches while investing more heavily in digital platforms.

For businesses, digital commerce can provide advantages in terms of cost and ease of interaction.

For consumers, it can provide greater convenience and speed.

It can also make it easier to compare different products and different prices.

This is one of the reasons Quick commerce platforms fit into a larger transformation in retail.

The future does not necessarily have to be about choosing between physical and digital.

For some businesses, the two can work together.

For others, the balance may shift more strongly toward digital commerce.

The important point is understanding where the customer is and how the business can serve that customer efficiently.

A Practical Framework for Quick Commerce Platforms

Based on the points discussed during my interview, I would look at Quick commerce platforms through five connected areas.

1. Product Availability

Start with the most basic question: Is the product available?

A 20 or 30-minute delivery promise cannot work without sufficient inventory.

Product availability is therefore the foundation of the customer promise.

2. Inventory and Storage

The next question is where the products are stored and how inventory is managed.

The shorter the delivery timeline, the more important these decisions become.

For non-local products, companies need to think carefully about their storage and operational processes.

3. Operations Streamlining

The third element is daily operations.

Quick commerce platforms require companies to look at how their operations function and identify ways to improve them.

The objective is to create an operation capable of supporting the delivery promise.

4. Customer Experience

The fourth element is the customer.

Fast delivery can create a better experience, but the customer needs to be satisfied with the overall service.

The objective is not simply to complete one transaction. The experience can influence whether the customer becomes a repeat customer.

5. Vision and Planning

Finally, technology needs to be connected to planning.

The availability of artificial intelligence, FinTech and digital platforms creates opportunities, but technology by itself does not guarantee success.

Vision, planning and controlled operations remain essential.

This connects closely with an idea I have explored in another article: moving from goals to systems and processes. Read why systems matter more than goals.

A goal tells you what you want to achieve.

A system and process determine how you actually operate.

For Quick commerce platforms, that distinction is critical because speed depends on the process behind the promise.

When Challenges Create Opportunities

One of the questions I was asked concerned the increasing need for warehouses and storage and whether these additional costs could become an economic threat to e-commerce.

My perspective is that challenges can also create opportunities.

As I said during the interview:

“I am from the school of thought that challenges can always create opportunities.”

Fady Ramzy, Sky News Arabia, May 2024

We have seen this particularly in the age of artificial intelligence, where new challenges have also created opportunities for startups.

The same principle applies to delivery and storage.

If companies need better solutions for warehousing, delivery or related operations, specialised startups can emerge to address those needs.

In that sense, the challenge facing Quick commerce platforms can also become an opportunity for another part of the digital economy.

How Small Businesses Can Benefit

The expansion of e-commerce has also created significant opportunities for small businesses.

One of the developments I discussed was the marketplace.

A small business can use a marketplace such as Amazon to sell its products. The advantage is access to an established platform, although the business gives up a percentage of its profit.

The alternative is increasingly accessible as well.

Through FinTech and artificial intelligence, businesses can create complete online stores more easily, sometimes within hours or even minutes.

This can allow businesses to remove the intermediary and establish a direct relationship with their customers.

The ecosystem now includes marketplaces, independent online stores, digital payment systems and different ways of marketing products.

What About Large Companies?

Large companies have also experienced major changes as e-commerce expanded.

During the pandemic, many e-commerce companies and digital platforms hired large numbers of employees.

In the years that followed, that became a burden for some companies and contributed to waves of layoffs.

Despite these challenges, I still consider e-commerce one of the most successful areas.

The opportunity lies in how companies identify and use technology, applications and artificial intelligence.

The companies that can see these developments quickly and integrate them effectively into their e-commerce operations can strengthen their position.

Ultimately, the entire system comes back to the buyer.

Businesses need to understand the customer’s thinking and psychology.

The better companies understand customer needs and use the tools available through the e-commerce ecosystem to address those needs, the stronger the opportunity for continued growth.

This connects with my broader work on sales psychology and understanding the customer’s WHY, including fears, challenges, needs, wants and desires. Read Master Sales Psychology with These 3 Hacks.

My Advice to Consumers

At the end of the interview, I also shared some practical advice for consumers.

The first is to compare products.

When you visit a physical mall or store, comparing products and prices across different locations can take considerable time.

Online, it becomes easier to compare different products and prices.

The second point is to share your opinion.

Ratings, reviews and feedback are important.

If I have a good or bad experience with a store, I should share that experience.

When consumers share their experiences, other consumers can benefit from that information.

This exchange of feedback becomes another part of the digital commerce ecosystem.

For Quick commerce platforms, customer feedback can therefore sit alongside speed, availability and convenience as part of the overall customer experience.

Explore What’s Next for Your Business

If your business is navigating digital transformation, changing customer behaviour, digital marketing or the evolution of e-commerce, I can help you turn complex challenges into practical strategies.

Whether the challenge is understanding customers, improving digital communication or identifying opportunities created by technological change, the starting point is understanding the problem clearly.

Work with Fady Ramzy

FAQ

What are Quick commerce platforms?

Quick commerce platforms are digital commerce platforms focused on significantly faster delivery, with customers increasingly expecting products within hours rather than waiting for longer delivery periods.

What is the biggest challenge facing Quick commerce platforms?

The main challenge discussed in my Sky News Arabia interview is managing inventory, storage and daily operations while maintaining very short delivery times.

Why is inventory important for Quick commerce platforms?

A company promising delivery within 20 or 30 minutes needs sufficient inventory. Product availability is therefore directly connected to the delivery promise and customer experience.

Can local products help Quick commerce platforms?

Yes. Local products can help address supply challenges when companies need products to be available quickly enough to support short delivery windows.

Can physical stores and Quick commerce platforms work together?

Yes. The relationship can be competitive in some cases and complementary in others. Some businesses are reducing physical branches while investing more heavily in digital platforms.

How can small businesses benefit from e-commerce?

Small businesses can use marketplaces or establish their own online stores. FinTech and artificial intelligence have also made it easier to create and operate digital stores.

What ultimately determines the success of Quick commerce platforms?

Technology is only part of the equation. Vision, planning, inventory, operations and customer experience all need to work together to support the business and its delivery promise.