India's Quick Commerce Scale-up: Decoding Dark Stores and Urban Logistics Demand

India’s quick commerce is redrawing the map of urban fulfilment in the country. At the center of this ecosystem are dark stores - compact, in-city micro-warehouses positioned within 2–3 kms of consumers. Supported by larger peripheral mother hubs, these facilities enable rapid replenishment, multi-zone order picking, and 10-to-30-minute delivery timelines.

CBRE Research's first report on the quick commerce sector unpacks the real estate story behind this scale-up: how dark stores are built, financed, and leased, and what the next phase of growth means for logistics real estate through 2030.

Key findings include

• India's dedicated dark-store model - A network of ~7,800 stores across 100+ cities, which occupies roughly around 27 million sq. ft. of space, supported by larger replenishment hubs that keep inventory moving across city-level networks.
• Scale-up to 2030:  India’s dark store network is projected to grow to 12,000+ stores with the dark-store stock reaching ~42 million sq. ft. and mother-hub stock at ~33 million sq. ft., totalling ~75 million sq. ft. of cumulative urban logistics demand.
• Geographic expansion: While 65–70% of stores remain concentrated in the top eight metro cities, expansion is accelerating into tier-II and tier-III markets (e.g., Jaipur, Lucknow, Surat, Coimbatore, Nagpur) due to lower real estate costs and rising digital adoption.
• Investment inflows support network expansion: Indian q-commerce operators have attracted USD 8.94 billion in cumulative sector funding over the last decade, the second highest globally after the U.S.
• Partner-led operating models: To scale efficiently, operators are transitioning toward franchised dark stores, 3PL logistics outsourcing, shared multi-brand fulfilment hubs, and partnerships with local kirana stores.

To gain deeper insights into dark store operating models, regulatory / FDI frameworks, unit economics, and regional leasing breakdowns, click on the download button.