Battle for Ultra-Fast Fashion Delivery Market intensifies in e-commerce platforms

Dr Vidhu Sekhar P

Online e-commerce fashion platforms are reorienting their delivery strategies to attract Gen Z. New-age brands like Newme, Slikk, Blip, and Snitch are racing with big players like Myntra, Ajio, and Nykaa to grab a piece of India's fast-growing ultra-fast fashion delivery market. This speedy delivery service brings picks from hundreds of brands in 30 minutes to 4 hours, hitting Gen Z's love for instant gratification and trendy impulse buys.

The new-age brand Snitch has raised $40 million for their pilot project in ultra fashion delivery in Bangalore that expands their offline and online commercial channels. The Slikk has secured $10 million to strengthen its 60-minute delivery offering. While Newme raised $18 million, to focus on data-driven inventory to expand its physical retail network.

Ajio of Reliance has recently launched "Ajio Rush," which offers a 4-hour fashion delivery in major cities. Myntra’s "M-Now" and Nykaa’s rapid delivery offer further intensified market competition.

Except for the startup like Blip that closed its operation a year ago, investors have shown mixed responses in funding and are increasingly betting on the ultra-fast segment. The major platforms that revived Venture Capital support deals include Knot ($3M), Zulu Club ($250,000), and Zilo ($4.5M). In the first half of 2025, fashion startups raised $148 million, a notable increase over previous years.

Despite the booming fund support, Ultra-Fast Fashion Delivery faces unique challenges of supply chain complexities. Fashion, unlike groceries or food, is an experiential and highly variable category. Delivery logistics need to accommodate differential Stock Keeping Units (SKU), frequent style changes, and the need for physical fit, which increases operational cost and complexity. Unlike food or grocery delivery, which handles a limited range of products, fashion e-commerce must manage thousands of styles, sizes, and colour variations. This increases complexity in procurement decisions and risks overstocking slow-moving lines.

If the supply chain is not optimum, the unsold inventory and liquidation costs can dent the profit, and may not be able to catch up with the fast-changing appetite. Leading brands are investing in AI-powered systems to analyse social media trends and dynamically manage inventory. Newme, uses a dedicated data science team for real-time trend spotting and stock decision-making.

Demand volatility for fashion purchases are often in non-urgent category. Shoppers are excited by the ultra-quick delivery options, but decisions quite often come late. Ultra-fast delivery would not be quickly mitigating the issues of fit, size, and customer preference that drives the current reverse logistics that stands at 35–40%. Brands often work with multiple vendors to ensure rapid stock replenishment. However, delays at this stage can disrupt the entire value chain.

Food delivery solves almost exclusively for urgent, unplanned needs, as hunger cannot wait any longer. Fashion e-commerce, even with rapid delivery, still faces consumer inertia, high returns, and style unpredictability. What works for food, like the standard SKUs, low returns, and reliable demand, may not be directly proportional to fashion. Moreover, consumer behavior, supply chain agility, and demand forecasting are complicating it further to optimize for profitability.

With investor backing, technological innovation, and experimentation continuing, ultra-fast fashion delivery is set for further evolution. Its long-term commercial viability depends on solving reverse inventory management, improving demand prediction, and boosting repeat usage that can cover these costs to mitigate inventory risks. (Author is Assistant Professor at National Institute of Fashion Technology, Ministry of Textiles, Govt of India)