The demand for instant deliveries has intensified competition in India’s fashion retail industry, pushing platforms and startups alike to bet on speed as a key differentiator, setting the stage for a more execution-intensive battle in 2026.
The year 2025 marked the rise of quick fashion models that promise clothing deliveries within 60 minutes, echoing the rapid expansion of quick commerce in groceries and staples. What began as limited pilots in a few urban pockets has evolved into a broader strategic push, with large marketplaces, mass retailers and digital-first brands racing to meet consumers’ growing expectations for immediate fulfilment.
The shift became evident this year as Myntra expanded its 30-minute M-Now service across Bengaluru, Mumbai, Delhi-NCR, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Pune. Reliance Retail entered the segment with Ajio Rush, offering fashion delivery in under four hours in key cities.
Ethnic wear brand Libas partnered with Zepto to enable 10–12 minute deliveries for select styles and also launched its own quick-commerce vertical during the festive season. Vishal Mega Mart rolled out a store-led rapid-delivery model across more than 650 stores in over 400 cities. At the same time, brands such as NEWME, Slikk and Knot scaled ultra-fast delivery offerings focused on impulse-led, occasion-driven demand.
For Myntra, quick delivery has moved beyond experimentation. One year after launch, M-Now contributes around 10% of overall orders in locations where it is live, with customer penetration exceeding 20%, according to the company. The service has attracted over 35 million unique visitors and operates through more than 80 dark stores covering over 940 pincodes.
Dark store dominance
“M-Now has seen strong and sustained customer adoption since launch, reaffirming that speed is increasingly becoming a core expectation in fashion and beauty e-commerce,” said Maneesh Kumar Dubey, vice president, category management, Myntra.
He added that categories such as women’s western wear, women’s Indian wear, occasion wear, footwear, handbags, watches, jewellery and perfumes have seen strong demand, alongside everyday beauty and personal care essentials. M-Now is also witnessing an uptick in premium gifting demand, reflecting rising consumer confidence in ultra-fast delivery even for higher-value items.
The return delivery timelines are the same for M-Now and Myntra. It takes the standard 2-7 business days.
Dubey said the service is enabled by a network of strategically located dark stores, advanced trend forecasting, real-time inventory visibility and dynamic order routing that help manage demand spikes during festive and sale events. “As customers increasingly expect speed, hyper-speed fashion delivery is set to become an increasingly meaningful part of the overall e-commerce mix,” he said, particularly in metros and high-potential tier II markets.
Amid the expansion of platform-led models, quick-fashion startups have gained fresh investor attention as they build speed-first propositions targeting younger, trend-driven consumers.
Bengaluru-based Slikk, one of the early quick-commerce fashion players, has raised capital to fuel its 60-minute delivery model and expand its footprint. The startup secured $10 million (about ₹85 crore) in a Series A round led by Nexus Venture Partners, with participation from Lightspeed. The funding aims to help the startup expand into lifestyle categories, introduce instant returns, and widen its geographical reach beyond Bengaluru, where it currently delivers fashion and accessories in under an hour.
Mumbai-based Knot has also drawn investor interest, securing more than $8 million in funding to expand its rapid-delivery network and services. The quick-fashion delivery startup offers 60-minute deliveries with doorstep trials and AI-powered try-ons to reduce returns, alongside plans to grow micro-warehouses and strengthen last-mile operations beyond Mumbai.
Solving return logistics
Digital-first brand NEWME has put ultra-fast delivery at the centre of its growth strategy, offering its quick-delivery vertical, Zip, with 30–60 minute fulfilment in Bengaluru and 60–90 minutes in the Delhi-NCR region. According to founder Sumit Jasoria, the strongest traction on Zip comes from trend-led occasion wear such as partywear, co-ords, dresses and going-out styles—purchases that are largely impulse-driven rather than pre-planned.
“Over 70% of Zip orders are for outfits customers need the same day,” Jasoria said. He added that ultra-fast delivery has not only boosted conversion rates but also reduced cancellations and failed deliveries, as on-hand inventory at delivery locations is significantly higher. Faster delivery, he noted, also shortens the time between purchase and use, reducing second thoughts and resulting in lower return rates.
NEWME operates its own hyperlocal fulfilment model using a network of dark stores and brand outlets, and chooses not to partner with third-party quick-commerce platforms. “Managing fulfilment in-house gives us better control over inventory, delivery timelines and customer experience, which is essential when you’re promising fashion delivery in under an hour,” Jasoria said.
On economics, he said the key lies in placing the right inventory in the right locations. “Our data science models ensure we only place inventory with a high probability of selling within those micro-markets. While last-mile delivery costs are higher, they are balanced by lower returns, better conversions and faster inventory movement,” he explained.
On the question of whether speed is becoming hygiene or a differentiator, Jasoria said, “Today, ultra-fast delivery is a strong differentiator in fashion, especially when combined with curated styles and trend relevance. Over time, speed may become hygiene, but experience, trend accuracy and reliability will continue to differentiate brands.”
Key Takeaways
- Quick fashion is moving from a premium pilot to a standard expectation, with 30–60 minute deliveries becoming the 2026 benchmark.
- While last-mile logistics costs are higher for quick fashion, they are being offset by significantly lower return rates and higher conversion.
- Success is increasingly dependent on hyperlocal infrastructure rather than centralized regional hubs.
- Occasion wear, partywear, and premium gifting are the primary drivers of the ‘instant’ fashion trend.
- Significant capital (Series A rounds of $8–10 million is flowing into startups that can prove execution in the 60-minute delivery space.
Execution over hype
Looking ahead to 2026, he said Zip will be central to NEWME’s growth strategy, with plans to strengthen its presence in core metros such as Delhi-NCR, Bengaluru and Mumbai, and improve delivery speed and style availability.
The acceleration in quick fashion coincided with a broader recovery in apparel retail after a cautious start to 2025. According to Kumar Rajagopalan, chief executive officer of the Retailers Association of India (RAI), the apparel sector experienced low single-digit growth in the early months as consumers reduced their discretionary spending.
“From August onwards, apparel performance improved, supported by festive demand and better consumer sentiment, leading to stronger growth in the second half of the year,” Rajagopalan said. He added that fast fashion grew faster as GST cuts made mid-priced clothes more affordable.
“Looking ahead to 2026, competition will intensify as both startups and large retailers focus on faster product cycles, sharper assortments and tighter inventory control, making execution the key differentiator,” he said.
