Inside a dark store: The unseen hands that make 10-min q-commerce tick

The writer steps into a Big Basket dark store, and unlocks the secret that makes your quick commerce app the modern technological equivalent of Alladin's djinn

It’s a rainy Monday morning in Noida, and a crowd of delivery riders in neon tees wait patiently outside a nondescript building. There are no shopfronts, no signs, and certainly no customers walking in or out. Yet this inconspicuous warehouse is fulfilling grocery orders for thousands — often in under 10 minutes.

 

Welcome to a dark store.

 

One of over 700 across the country run by Bigbasket, this facility spans about 6,000 square feet. It’s a critical cog in the machine that powers India’s burgeoning quick commerce sector — a behind-the-scenes agglomeration of nationwide hubs built for speed, efficiency, and