The quick commerce firms, including Swiggy, Blinkit, Zomato, and Zepto, on Tuesday removed their 10-minute delivery catchline after intervention from the centre. Union Labour Minister Mansukh Mandviya, amid the demands from the gig workers' unions, had urged these firms to provide flexibility to the delivery partners to ensure their safety. However, the experts believe that though the strategy has been changed on the papers, the workers are not likely to get benefits instantly. They further stated that these firms will continue to prioritise speed and convenience, adding that they might consider making changes in the pay structure.

The experts stated that the change in strategy is "optics-driven" and not business altering, adding that the Unique Selling Point (USP) of the quick commerce firms is speed. "The removal of the 10-minute delivery catchline is largely optics-driven rather than business-altering," Karan Taurani, executive vice president at Elara Capital, was quoted as saying by Reuters.

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"The proposition of quick commerce continues to be anchored in speed, convenience, and proximity-led fulfillment, which remains structurally superior to horizontal e-commerce timelines," he added. Apart from this, Eternal, the parent company of Zomato and Blinkit, clarified that there was no change in the strategy for Blinkit.

The delivery agents have also stated that the strategy is not likely to change instantly, as time is a very crucial factor for their incentives and rating. “There is no time limit within which we must deliver an order, but the volume of orders we deliver and the time within which we order them are directly related to our incentives and rating,” one of the delivery partners was quoted as saying by the Hindustan Times.

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Earlier in December, several gig workers' unions announced a strike on the eve of Christmas and the New Year, demanding better working conditions and reforms in pay scale. The Telangana Gig and Platform Workers Union (TGPWU) president, Shaik Salauddin, stated that the fast-delivery model has put the workers in danger.