A new playbook: Startups go vertical in India's quick commerce race

As the quick commerce (qcom) race hots up, a new model — vertical qcom — is gaining investor attention. Unlike horizontal players such as Blinkit, Zepto, and Swiggy Instamart, which stock everything from groceries to gifts and gadgets, vertical platforms focus on depth over breadth. 

These platforms target niche but high-value categories, such as ph­arma, fashion, beauty, baby care, and pet care, where the range of ass­ortment and repeat purchases is hig­h.  Investors say that specialised ve­r­tical players can offer better availability and domain-specific expertise. 

They are also increasingly betting on these models for their higher average order values (AOVs),