Quick Commerce Needs 75 Million Sq Ft in 4 Years

India’s quick-commerce sector is expected to require approximately 75 million sq. ft. of urban logistics space by 2030, driven by the rapid expansion of dark stores and large supply warehouses, according to CBRE South Asia.

Quick commerce needs 75 million sq ft in 4 years. (Image for representational purpose only)

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India’s quick-commerce sector is projected to require approximately 75 million sq ft of urban logistics space by 2030, as operators expand dark stores and larger warehouses supporting rapid deliveries, according to CBRE South Asia. The report, India’s Quick Commerce Scale-up: Decoding Dark Stores and Urban Logistics Demand, estimates that the requirement will comprise 42 million sq ft for in-city dark stores and 33 million sq. ft. for mother hubs that supply multiple dark stores.

India currently has around 7,800 dark stores across more than 100 cities, occupying approximately 27 million sq ft. Their number is expected to exceed 12,000 by 2030. While 65–70 per cent of dark stores are concentrated in the eight largest cities, expansion into tier-II and tier-III markets is gathering pace.

Quick-commerce-related warehousing demand grew at a compound annual growth rate of 81 per cent between 2021 and 2025. Annual space take-up increased from 3.1 million sq. ft. in 2024 to 4.3 million sq. ft. in 2025.

Delhi-NCR accounted for 21 per cent of quick-commerce warehouse leasing between 2021 and the first half of 2026, followed by Mumbai at 20 per cent, Bengaluru at 17 per cent, Hyderabad at 16 per cent, and Chennai at 11 per cent.

CBRE said mother hubs measuring 100,000–125,000 sq ft were becoming central to the sector’s hub-and-spoke model. Each typically serves 30–50 dark stores, linking larger inventory facilities with neighbourhood fulfilment locations.

The expansion is expected to create opportunities for developers and landlords with strategically located, compliant spaces suited to high-volume fulfilment, cold-chain requirements and last-mile delivery.

Operators are also likely to rely on third-party logistics providers, franchise-led stores, and shared fulfilment infrastructure as networks spread beyond major urban centres.