CHENNAI: Chennai has emerged as one of India’s most active quick-commerce markets, with about 190 dark stores – a small, local warehouse set up exclusively to fulfil online orders – occupying roughly one million square feet as of October 2025, placing it third nationally by store count, according to a report by Savills India.

The scale of Chennai’s footprint underscores the rapid expansion of quick commerce infrastructure in large, consumption-driven urban centres.

The dark stores in the city are largely concentrated in well-connected suburbs and secondary micro-markets, allowing operators to optimise delivery speed while keeping real estate costs in check and extending coverage to fast-growing suburban catchments, according to the report.

When a customer places an order on a quick-commerce app, the order is routed to the nearest dark store, where the staff pick items from shelves and hand them to delivery partners.

Savills notes that Chennai also ranks among the leading Tier-II growth markets for dark stores, supported by rising e-commerce adoption and growing consumer demand for ultra-fast delivery of groceries, daily essentials and higher-value categories such as premium personal care and lifestyle products.