Customers Hesitant To Trust Quick Commerce For High-Value Purchases

Even as quick-commerce platforms gear up to become one-stop shops, customers remain hesitant to place high-value orders through these platforms. Apprehensions over reliability, ease of redressal and lack of trust loom among consumers. 

The debate over using quick commerce platforms to buy high-value orders was sparked after an X post about a purchasing mishap went viral. Delhi-based Mohit Jain received only 0.5 gramme of gold against his order of 1 gramme of gold on Blinkit, after which the return window was also closed. 

Around the festival season, quick commerce platforms Swiggy Instamart, Zepto, Blinkit and Big Basket Now have all introduced gold and silver coin products on the platform. This is in addition to the other highly valued items like the iPhone, PlayStation, and other costly electronics that are already available on the apps. This comes as quick commerce platforms are increasingly trying to compete with the e-commerce giants. 

Some of the frequent quick commerce customers NDTV Profit spoke to said that while they would make purchases of groceries or toiletries, they would not opt to buy costlier items like gold or silver.

Nishchitha LS, an engineer in Bengaluru, said, “In case of small orders, I wouldn't mind if something goes wrong; I don't get an appropriate solution, and I don't get that money back. But it is too much anxiety-inducing to spend thousands on quick-commerce platforms. It is too much hassle to go through the whole process of redressal in case something goes wrong, and I don't trust these apps to be prompt always. I'd rather buy from a store.”

Several consumers have reported experiencing issues with their small orders of noodles, diffusers, and French presses, among other items, for which they have not received a refund. Hence, it is difficult for them to trust those very platforms for bigger orders. Consumers on social media have also commented on their lack of trust in these platforms, which has resulted in an aversion towards placing large orders.

Most quick-commerce platforms lack a dedicated redressal mechanism for high-value orders, instead prioritising the resolution based on the specific case.

"We have introduced OTP-based handovers for high-value items to provide a trustworthy customer experience. A separate team addresses escalations, if any, that are taken up on priority with a shorter redressal turnaround," a Blinkit spokesperson said regarding the issue.

Another quick-commerce company, Big Basket, said that for high-value orders, it has a three-step process of end-to-end scanning, photographic evidence and customer verification through one-time password. However, in case of returns, consumers will have to connect with the dealer of the product, which the platform would help facilitate. 

Seshu Kumar, chief buying and merchandising officer at Big Basket, explains that consumers are choosing quick-commerce platforms for high-value orders like iPhones or gold coins only when there is event-driven urgency or it is time-sensitive. On Big Basket, iPhone sales for instance are around the launch event, and gold coins on occasions like Dhanteras.

Consumers may still opt for physical retailers or standard e-commerce when they have more time, he added.