The race for immediacy: How quick commerce is reshaping grocery in Australia

It is hard to imagine everyday life without platforms like Uber Eats or DoorDash. What began as restaurant delivery has quietly evolved into something far more consequential for grocery and convenience brands. 

Uber Eats arrived in Australia nearly a decade ago and has since surpassed one billion deliveries nationwide. Over that same period, quick commerce has shifted from novelty to habit. The Australian quick commerce grocery market is expected to grow from AUD $1.35 billion in 2021 to $2.56 billion by 2030, with user numbers continuing to climb steadily across the decade. 

That scale matters. But what matters more is what it signals. 

Quick commerce is no longer an “extra” channel or a convenient alternative. It reflects a deeper behavioural shift, where immediacy has become a baseline expectation and where the time between need and fulfilment is shrinking fast. In this environment, speed is no longer just an operational metric. It is increasingly shaping how grocery and convenience brands are discovered, chosen and remembered. 

For brands, this marks a structural change in how everyday purchase decisions are made, and who controls them. 

Why immediacy now defines everyday commerce  

Uber Eat’s recent Quick Commerce Trend Report highlights several behavioural drivers behind the growing demand for convenience. Together, they explain why quick commerce is accelerating and why its impact extends well beyond delivery. 

First, frictionless living is now the minimum expectation. Years of well-designed apps, one-tap payments and real-time tracking have recalibrated expectations. Consumers increasingly expect everyday commerce to work without effort, delay or complexity. In this context, any friction isn’t just inconvenient, it feels like failure. 

Second, quick commerce delivers decision relief, not just speed. For Gen Z and Millennials in particular, convenience is closely tied to cognitive load. As life becomes busier and more demanding, shoppers are simplifying low-stakes, high-frequency decisions like groceries, meals and household essentials. People are willing to deliberate longer on big purchases, while actively outsourcing smaller ones. Quick commerce platforms intercept those moments precisely when consumers want the decision made easy. 

Finally, curated convenience has become the norm. Personalisation is no longer limited to content or entertainment. Consumers now expect commerce platforms to anticipate needs, remember preferences and surface relevant options without effort. This has accelerated “super app” behaviour, where fewer platforms do more of the work. Uber’s cross-platform users, for example, show higher frequency and retention than single-use customers, reinforcing the value of consolidation. 

Together, these dynamics are compressing the path to purchase. Discovery, decision and delivery are collapsing into a single moment. When a product can arrive in under an hour, the question quickly becomes why it is not always available that way. 

For grocery and convenience brands, this has profound implications. Speed, proximity and availability are no longer background considerations. They are shaping brand choice, category performance and which products earn visibility at the point of need. 

From experiment to expectation 

For decades, grocery retail was built around planned behaviour. Weekly shops. Big baskets. Search-led discovery focused on price comparison and substitution. 

Quick commerce flips that logic. 

These platforms are designed around need states, not lists. “I’ve run out.” “I forgot.” “I need this now.” Baskets are smaller, intent is higher, and tolerance for friction is close to zero. 

That shift changes how discovery works. Shoppers aren't browsing long category aisles or evaluating dozens of SKUs. Instead, they are presented with a short, algorithmically ranked selection where availability, proximity, popularity and fulfilment speed carry disproportionate weight. 

If a product isn't locally available, surfaced early and easy to add, it effectively disappears. 

This is the moment where quick commerce stops being just a delivery channel and starts reshaping the digital shelf itself. 

The new ecosystem of quick commerce partnerships 

The current landscape in Australia shows how quickly the structure of quick commerce partnerships is evolving and why brands must pay attention. 

Coles and Uber Eats 

Coles has doubled down on its partnership with Uber Eats, expanding the range of products available via the app to become the largest national on-demand grocery catalogue in Australia. This partnership made Uber Eats the exclusive on-demand delivery partner for Coles from late 2025, offering up to 17,000 products directly through the Uber Eats interface and expanding value-led promotions and exclusive perks for Uber One members.  

For Coles, deep integration into Uber Eats means leaning into a platform with enormous daily active use, where quick missions such as top-ups, forgotten essentials and spontaneous buys occur naturally as part of broader consumer behaviour. For brands, this changes how products are surfaced, ranked and consumed within one of Australia’s most frequented on-demand apps. 

Woolworths and DoorDash 

Meanwhile, Woolworths recently joined DoorDash’s growing grocery delivery ecosystem, significantly expanding its presence on the platform. Australians can now browse and purchase a wide range of Woolworths products including pantry staples, fresh food and everyday essentials through DoorDash with fast, reliable delivery from stores nationwide. 

This shift has reshaped the competitive dynamics between platforms. Woolworths’ move into DoorDash complements its existing delivery options, including its own On Demand service (Milkrun) and traditional home delivery. The partnership creates broader digital reach for Woolworths and introduces further algorithmic competition around visibility, fulfilment and conversion. 

Aldi’s strategic entry via DoorDash 

Discount retailer Aldi has also entered the delivery landscape through a partnership with DoorDash, initially trialling grocery delivery in Canberra before rolling the service out nationally. Aldi’s move is significant because it brings one of the most value-oriented and brand-loyal customer bases into the on-demand mix. Aldi’s cult-favourite Special Buys (typically exclusive, limited-stock weekly offers) are also now being made available through DoorDash in selected regions, further connecting convenience with discovery. 

For brands, Aldi’s presence on DoorDash highlights an important point: the on-demand grocery ecosystem is no longer defined solely by the big two supermarkets. Value-led, differentiated players are expanding their reach, and with them, the contexts in which consumers discover and choose products. 

Costco and DoorDash 

Costco have also partnered with DoorDash in Australia for delivery of a range of grocery and household essentials, adding another major player into the quick commerce fold. This increases choice on the platform and underscores that even warehouse formats focused on bulk and value are tapping into immediacy missions. 

Together, these partnerships illustrate a clear trend: third-party apps are now essential extension points of retailer ecosystems. They are not just delivery endpoints; they are critical platforms where brand visibility, assortment, pricing and fulfilment merge and compete. 

What this means for brands: visibility, range and relevance 

As quick commerce expands, several key commercial implications emerge for grocery and convenience brands. Success is no longer driven by presence alone, but by how well products perform inside fast-moving, algorithmically ranked environments. 

Brand visibility is now platform-specific 

Where products appear - and how they are ranked - matters more than ever. In quick commerce, placement is driven by algorithms that prioritise availability, proximity, fulfilment speed and popularity in the moment of need. Brands that optimise for these signals can outperform larger competitors, because visibility in these contexts often outweighs brand equity alone. 

Much of that visibility is mediated by the retailer. Local stock levels, store ranging and fulfilment readiness directly influence whether a product is surfaced at all. As a result, monitoring in-store availability and aligning supply chain and logistics to on-demand demand patterns is more important than ever. 

Product content plays a quieter but equally critical role. Algorithms rely on structured product data such as attributes, pack formats, use cases and imagery to understand what a product is and when it should be shown. Brands increasingly need a central way to manage and distribute this content consistently across multiple platforms, which is why Product Experience Management (PXM) approaches, such as those enabled by Salsify, are becoming foundational rather than optional. 

Winning here requires brands to understand each platform’s logic and prioritisation, and to align product metadata, availability and promotional mechanics accordingly. 

Product range and pack size must align with mission 

Ensuring the retailer is prioritising your range and SKUs is important. As seen on platforms like Coles via Uber Eats, not all SKUs are ranged for on-demand delivery, making joint business planning and range prioritisation critical. 

But that is just the tip of the iceberg. The products that convert best on quick commerce platforms are not always the same as those that sell well in broader eCommerce or in-store environments.  

Smaller pack sizes, single-serve formats, meal solutions and occasion-based solutions (e.g. party pack) and everyday essentials that solve immediate needs consistently outperform broader multipacks or bulk formats in on-demand missions. Bundles, limited formats and platform-specific ranges are often more effective at converting than standard assortments curated for weekly stock-up shopping. 

Clear product content is what allows these formats to win. When discovery windows are short and choice is limited, shoppers - and algorithms - need to quickly understand what a product is for, how it fits the moment and why it is relevant now. 

Pricing and promotions must be contextually designed 

Quick commerce pricing extends beyond shelf price. Delivery fees, service charges and platform mechanics reshape how value is perceived in the moment. Consumers can perceive a snack arriving in 20 minutes as good value even if it costs more than its in-store price; but  high delivery mark-ups can deter repeat behaviour, particularly for value-sensitive shoppers. 

Promotions and exclusives need to reflect these realities. Brands and retailers should rethink price architecture, promotions and platform incentives to align with how consumers shop in quick commerce contexts. 

Product content again plays a supporting role here. Clear pricing cues, pack descriptions and promotional messaging help reduce friction at the point of decision, especially when shoppers are comparing fewer options under time pressure. 

Fulfilment speed as a strategic signal 

Arguably the most important shift brought by quick commerce is how delivery performance now contributes to brand perception. 

Consumers notice when products arrive quickly and time is money when it comes to paying the on-demand workforce. Over time, consistent availability and fast delivery become associated with reliability and trust. Conversely, products that frequently go out of stock or suffer delayed fulfilment quietly lose relevance in consumers’ minds. 

These dynamics expose supply chain and inventory weaknesses that traditional eCommerce can mask. Brands must confront questions around local ranging, forecasting and fulfilment readiness, as well as balancing national consistency with local availability to meet on-demand missions effectively. 

Decision distance has shrunk - and so has the window to influence purchase 

Quick commerce compresses distance and choice. Shoppers see fewer products, spend less time browsing and make decisions faster. The digital shelf is no longer something brands optimise periodically. It is being evaluated in real time, store by store and moment by moment. 

The brands that win will be those that: 

• Understand platform algorithms and ranking signals 

• Tailor ranges, pack formats and pricing for immediacy 

• Treat fulfilment speed as a strategic lever, not merely an operational outcome 

• Maintain accurate, structured and platform-ready product content across delivery ecosystems 

• Monitor performance continuously across multiple quick commerce platforms 

Quick commerce isn’t replacing grocery retail. It is reshaping it around moments that matter most. 

And for brands, the race isn’t just about being everywhere. It is about being there fast - and being understood instantly when they are. 

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At Arktic Fox, we partner with brands to build robust digital shelf strategies that perform across platforms, channels and moments of intent. Find out how we can help your brand stand out when it matters the most.