Authors : Falguni N. Jain; Rajesh C. Rokade

Volume/Issue : Volume 11 - 2026, Issue 3 - March

Google Scholar : https://tinyurl.com/3437cpja

Scribd : https://tinyurl.com/3yt458t5

DOI : https://doi.org/10.38124/ijisrt/26mar1087

Note : A published paper may take 4-5 working days from the publication date to appear in PlumX Metrics, Semantic Scholar, and ResearchGate.

Abstract : Traditional markets in Indian cities such as bazaars, haats, street vending corridors, and neighbourhood kirana clusters are not only economic infrastructures but also vital social and spatial systems embedded within everyday urban life. The rapid expansion of e-commerce and the recent rise of quick commerce (q-commerce), characterised by ultra-fast, hyperlocal deliveries, are transforming retail demand, supply chains, labour structures, and the physical form of markets. This research investigates how these digital retail models are reshaping the human experience and spatial functioning of traditional markets in India, and what this transformation implies for architecture and urban design. The primary objective of the study is to examine the measurable impacts of e-commerce and q-commerce on traditional market vitality, footfall patterns, logistics pressures, and informal livelihoods, while identifying architectural strategies that can enable coexistence rather than displacement. The research adopts a qualitative-descriptive methodology, drawing on published industry reports, news coverage, policy literature, and scholarly studies to analyse retail trends, market composition, and emerging spatial challenges. Socio-spatial classifications of Indian markets are used to interpret how digital retail intersects with existing morphologies. The study finds that traditional markets are not uniformly declining but are undergoing spatially uneven transformations, marked by increased logistics congestion, reprogramming of shop spaces, and shifting labour patterns. It identifies underused formal retail infrastructure as a key opportunity for adaptive reuse and proposes design responses that protect pedestrian cores while integrating digital and logistical functions. The research concludes that architecture can play a mediating role in sustaining market vitality. Future scope lies in empirical, site-specific studies and design-led experimentation to develop scalable, policy-aligned models for hybrid physicaldigital market environments.

Keywords : Traditional Markets, E-commerce and Quick Commerce, Urban Retail Transformation, Informal Economy, Physical– Digital Market Spaces

References :

1. India Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF). E-commerce industry in India (2024–2025). (India Brand Equity Foundation)
2. Reuters (reporting Bain/Flipkart). “India’s quick commerce sector made two-thirds of all 2024 e-grocery orders.” Mar 27, 2025. (Reuters)
3. RedSeer. Quick Commerce: India’s Retail Darling or Profit Mirage (2025 summary articles). (Redseer Strategy Consultants)
4. Knight Frank India. Think India, Think Retail (report, 2024–25) and accompanying media coverage on “ghost malls.” (Knight Frank)
5. Reliance Industries / industry summaries on retail composition (organised 18% vs unorganised 82% — corporate/industry presentations). (Reliance Industries Limited)
6. Yang, Anand A. Bazaar India: Markets, Society, and the Colonial State in Bihar. University of California Press, 1999 — historical study on bazaars and their socio-political roles. (Department of History)
7. Saha, Debdulal. Informal Markets, Livelihood and Politics: Street Vendors in Urban India. Routledge, 2016 — empirical study on street vending, policy and livelihood implications. (Taylor & Francis)
8. Sohoni, Pushkar. Taming the Oriental Bazaar: Architecture of the Market-Halls of Colonial India (Routledge) — architectural history of market halls and their design logics. (Routledge)