Gig hiring likely to surge in 2026 as qcom, ecom expand beyond metros

E-commerce and quick commerce platforms are set to add nearly a million gig workers in 2026, driven by last-mile delivery demand and rapid expansion of dark stores in non-metro cities

E-commerce (ecom) and quick commerce (qcom) platforms are expected to lead gig worker hiring in calendar year 2026 (CY26), adding nearly 1 million workers on the back of sustained demand for last-mile deliveries, higher order volumes, and continued expansion of dark stores into non-metropolitan cities, industry experts have said.

 

According to data from TeamLease Services, ecom and qcom are likely to add nearly 1 million jobs this year, followed by the logistics and warehousing sector.

 

Balasubramanian A, senior vice president, TeamLease, said: “Qcom and ecom are estimated to generate 900,000 to 1 million jobs as they expand into Tier-II and Tier-III cities; logistics and warehousing are expected to create nearly 500,000 roles driven by new multi-modal parks and electric vehicle fleets.” 

 

 

A similar trend was evident last year (CY25) when ecom and qcom firms created 600,000 jobs, logistics players generated 400,000, and the banking, financial services, and insurance (BFSI) sector added nearly 200,000 new gig roles for field sales and digital verification. In all, Teamlease Services, noted that 1.3-1.4 million jobs were created last calendar year.

 

Similarly, data from jobs and career platform Apna, for financial year 2026-27, said that hiring is expected to be driven largely by qcom expansion into Tier-II and Tier-III cities with around a million jobs. 

 

Kartik Narayan, chief executive officer of jobs marketplace at Apna, said: “The top three sectors -- qcom, retail, and logistics -- will continue to dominate the space. Qcom would add approximately 1 million jobs and logistics may generate approximately 500,000-700,000 jobs.”

 

Demand continues to rise across a wide range of roles, including pickers, packers, loaders, and delivery personnel. The growth in such jobs is directly linked with the pace of expansion of qcom businesses.

 

For instance, in the December quarter, on average, Blinkit, added 2.3 dark stores each day and is aiming for 3,000 dark stores by March 2027. Swiggy Instamart, meanwhile, has reached a store count of 1,021 and Zepto has expanded to over 1,000 dark stores. In addition, ecom giants Flipkart and Amazon are also strengthening the expansion of their qcom services, Flipkart Minutes and Amazon Now respectively. 

 

Apart from grocery platforms, the demand for quick deliveries is also picking up in other sectors. For instance, in the health-tech sector, Tata-owned startup Tata 1mg plans to have 500 outlets by the end of 2026 that will facilitate both offline and instant online ordering.

 

Fashion qcom platform Zilo said it hired gig workers in line with dark store launches and demand visibility. Bhavik Jhaveri, cofounder and chief investment officer of the firm, which was launched in July 2025, said: “We’ve consistently doubled our Style Runner (gig) workforce month-on-month to support rapid scale and ensure service quality as volumes grew. Looking ahead, we expect a continued uptick in gig hiring through this calendar year. As we expand, hiring will remain closely tied to physical expansion.”

 

Madhav Kasturia, founder and chief executive officer of logistics firm Zippee, also said: “Hiring momentum this year remains strong and demand-led, reflecting rapid growth in qcom. Rider operations are scaling aggressively in high-density cities and peak-hour windows, aligned to rising order volumes and throughput rather than indiscriminate headcount expansion.” In 2025, Zippee took around 2,500 delivery partners onboard. 

 

Industry estimates suggested that the overall gig workforce was expected to rise from about 13 million currently to 14 million in FY27. 

 

On whether an increase in demand will lead to a rise in salaries or incentives of gig workers, Apna said, “Salaries are variable payout given the job but are approximately between ₹12,000-₹25,000 with the mean being ₹15,000 for nearly 40 per cent of these employees. Gig worker payouts might remain flattish due to intense competition and any increase would be attributed to incentivising festival period delivery and other holidays than the actual pay-out per delivery.” 

 

Teamlease Services, too, said that pay growth into 2026 looks modest but positive, with more noticeable increases for delivery partners and specialised skill gigs.