Decathlon has rolled out its own two-hour quick-commerce delivery service across India’s seven largest cities, as the French sports retailer intensifies its omnichannel strategy in the country. The service, currently available through the Decathlon app, enables customers to order sporting essentials and receive them within 120 minutes.
Sankar Chatterjee, CEO of Decathlon India, said the company had been testing the service quietly but confirmed that the quick-commerce offering was now live, noting that it had received a strong response so far.
The retailer is managing deliveries through its in-house logistics network and plans a wider rollout once the pilot phase concludes.
The move comes amid a broader shift in consumer behaviour, with shoppers seeking both convenience and experience-driven retail. As part of this strategy, Decathlon has revamped its Whitefield store in Bengaluru into a flagship outlet, featuring a 26,000-square-foot playground equipped for football, basketball, skating, cricket and cycling practice. The company said that 76 of its 136 stores nationwide now include similar playgrounds. Although these spaces bring in additional revenue through nominal usage fees, the retailer emphasised their role in fostering habit-building and customer engagement.
Chatterjee said the model offered a complementary revenue stream but stressed that the primary aim was to help people pursue sport, adding that hands-on trials and experiential zones had a direct impact on product sales.
Decathlon has also strengthened its technology infrastructure with RFID-enabled inventory management, self-checkout counters and tablets for assisted ordering inside stores.
Gilles Gaudemard, India Retail Leader at Decathlon, said customers now shop both online and offline interchangeably, and the company therefore needed to operate in a fully omnichannel manner. Decathlon is targeting revenue of ₹8,000 crore by 2030 and said it remains on track to achieve that goal.
