A dark store is a store closed to shoppers: products sit on shelves as in a normal shop, but only staff pick them, to fulfil online orders for fast delivery or pickup. Dark stores are placed in residential neighbourhoods, close to customers, so orders arrive within hours or minutes instead of days. They are the backbone of quick commerce (q-commerce), rapid grocery delivery.
The format pays off only with a dense flow of orders in a small area: city rent and a courier for every order are expensive. Below: how a dark store works, how it differs from a warehouse, a shop and a fulfilment centre, the economics of one order on illustrative numbers, and whether an online store that ships parcels nationwide needs this format at all.
When people ask what a dark store is
Usually someone has read about 15-minute grocery delivery, the rise and retreat of quick-commerce start-ups in Europe, or a job ad for a "dark store picker". An online store owner comes with a different question: sales in one city are growing, customers ask for same-day delivery, and the owner wonders whether to move part of the stock closer to them. They search for "dark store" and "what is a dark store", then ask: "dark store vs warehouse", "how to set up a dark store", "how much does a dark store make".
The last question matters most, and the answer is not about a fashionable format but about the number of orders per day within the delivery radius.
How a dark store works
An order from the website or app goes straight to a picker, who walks the aisles and bags the products; a courier takes it to the customer within a few kilometres. There are no shoppers inside, so the shelves are arranged for fast picking, not for display.
- Order. The customer sees only the products that are in stock in this particular dark store, so stock on the website must update without delay.
- Picking. The picker takes items from a list; the best sellers sit closest to the dispatch area.
- Courier. On foot, by bike, e-scooter or car; the radius is a few kilometres so the promised time can be met.
- Customer. Receives the order at home or collects it at a pickup point.
In Europe the format grew with grocery delivery start-ups, and the market consolidated quickly. On December 9, 2022 Turkish rapid-delivery company Getir completed the purchase of its German rival Gorillas for about $1.2 billion, less than half of what Gorillas had been worth a year earlier. On April 29, 2024 Getir announced it was leaving the UK, Germany and the Netherlands to focus on Turkey; it said its business outside Turkey brought only 7% of revenue.
Dark store vs warehouse, shop and fulfilment centre
Location and speed: a warehouse sits where rent is cheap and ships parcels across the country, while a dark store sits next to its customers and delivers within hours. It differs from a shop in that customers are not allowed in.
| Format | Where it is | Customers inside | Who picks orders | Delivery |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Warehouse | out of town, industrial area | no | warehouse staff | by a parcel carrier, from one day |
| Dark store | in a residential neighbourhood | no | pickers | own couriers, within hours or minutes |
| Shop | where shoppers walk by | yes | the customer | customer carries it; online orders on top |
| Fulfilment centre | out of town | no | the operator's staff, for many sellers | by a parcel carrier, from one day |
Restaurants have a similar format, the dark kitchen (or ghost kitchen): a kitchen with no dining room that cooks only for delivery. The logic is the same: you pay for speed and closeness to the customer, not for a shop window.
How much a dark store makes: one order, calculated
A dark store pays off when the margin from a month of orders covers rent and wages; each individual order leaves little, because the courier and picking are paid every time. Work through one order from the top down.
Illustrative example for the arithmetic, not market prices. The average order is €40, the cost of goods €28 (a gross margin of 30%). Per order: courier €4.50, picking €1.50, waste of spoiled and expired goods €0.75, bag €0.25.
| Line | Amount, € |
|---|---|
| Order value | 40.00 |
| Cost of goods | −28.00 |
| Courier | −4.50 |
| Picking | −1.50 |
| Waste | −0.75 |
| Bag | −0.25 |
| Left for rent, wages and profit | 5.00 |
Of a €40 order, €5 is left for fixed costs, 12.5%. The courier takes almost as much as the dark store earns on the order, so order value and order density matter more than the rent.
How many orders a day a dark store needs to break even
Divide the month's fixed costs by what is left from one order: that is the break-even point.
In the example, fixed costs are €9,000 a month: rent for premises in a residential area, utilities, security, a shift lead's wage. Below 60 orders a day the dark store loses money; above it, every order adds €5 of profit.
| Orders per day | Per month | Order margin, € | Fixed costs, € | Profit, € |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 40 | 1,200 | 6,000 | 9,000 | −3,000 |
| 60 | 1,800 | 9,000 | 9,000 | 0 |
| 100 | 3,000 | 15,000 | 9,000 | 6,000 |
At the start there are usually fewer orders than in the plan, until the neighbourhood gets used to ordering, so budget for the first months at a loss. How to calculate margin and profit from one sale on any channel is covered in gross margin vs markup.
Which online stores a dark store suits
Few: those with many orders in one city and customers willing to pay for same-day delivery. A store that ships parcels nationwide with a carrier does not need a dark store; a warehouse is enough.
| Sign | Fits | Does not fit |
|---|---|---|
| Where orders come from | dozens a day in one city, across several neighbourhoods | all over the country, a few per city |
| Products | frequent purchases: groceries, household goods, baby and pet products, pharmacy range | rare purchases, bulky items, long decision time |
| Urgency | the customer needs it today | the customer is happy to wait 1–2 days |
| Order value | covers the courier and picking with room to spare | lower than the cost of a courier delivery |
| What you already have | a pickup point in the city that can be closed to walk-in customers | only a warehouse out of town |
The first step is often smaller than a full dark store: part of the fast-moving stock at an existing pickup point in the city, with courier delivery within the neighbourhood. That shows real demand before you rent separate premises.
Dark store risks
- Too few orders in the radius. Rent and wages are the same at 20 and at 100 orders a day, so every missing order goes straight into the loss.
- Products that are not there. The website shows one thing, the shelf holds another; substitutions and cancellations hurt repeat orders.
- Waste. Short-shelf-life food spoils faster than it sells when demand is weak.
- Neighbours and the city. Couriers at the door and noise in a residential street lead to complaints. In January 2022 Amsterdam stopped new dark stores from opening in residential areas after residents complained about noise and congestion.
With more than one location: separate stock for each
As soon as a second location appears, the website has to show what is in stock at that location, and an order has to reserve the goods in the warehouse it will be picked from. A single "store-wide" stock figure starts misleading customers.
In Elbuz you can keep several warehouses, each with its own stock, prices and movement history; a confirmed order reserves the items, and you see the available quantity in advance. Stock and prices from the warehouses go to your catalog and website. Elbuz does not replace your own courier delivery: that is the job of your delivery partner or courier service. How orders, stock reservation and shipping work together is on the order management page.
Orders and stock by warehouse in ElbuzReservations and available stock for every location
Frequently asked questions
What is a dark store in simple terms?
A store that shoppers cannot enter: staff pick online orders there, and couriers deliver them quickly to customers nearby.
What is the difference between a warehouse and a dark store?
Location and speed. A warehouse sits out of town and ships parcels with a carrier from one day; a dark store sits in a residential area and delivers within hours or minutes with its own couriers.
Why are they called dark stores?
Because they look like stores inside but are "dark" to the public: there is no shop floor open to customers, only staff picking orders.
Can you buy directly from a dark store?
No, a classic dark store has no shop floor. Some have a pickup point where you can collect your own online order.
Can you give an example of a dark store?
The rapid grocery delivery services that spread across European cities, such as Gorillas and Getir, delivered from dark stores. Getir bought Gorillas in December 2022 and left the UK, Germany and the Netherlands in April 2024.
What is a dark kitchen?
A kitchen with no dining room that cooks only for delivery, also called a ghost kitchen. It is the same idea as a dark store, applied to restaurants.
How do you set up a dark store?
Start with your order data: how many orders come from one city and from which areas. If it is dozens a day, test demand with delivery from an existing location, calculate the break-even point and only then rent separate premises.
Sources
- RetailDetail, December 9, 2022 — Getir finalises the purchase of Gorillas for about $1.2 billion, less than half its value a year earlier — retaildetail.eu.
- Retail Gazette, April 29, 2024 — Getir exits the UK, Germany and the Netherlands and refocuses on Turkey; non-Turkish business was 7% of revenue — retailgazette.co.uk.
- DutchNews.nl, January 28, 2022 — Amsterdam halts new dark stores in residential areas after complaints about noise and congestion — dutchnews.nl.
Checked on October 31, 2026. The calculations in the article are illustrative examples for the arithmetic.
John Smith
Oh, interesting topic! I recently heard about Dark Stores and would like to know more about them. Has anyone already tried to adapt to this retail format?