Spain-based food delivery service Glovo has signed a deal with Switzerland-based real estate firm Stoneweg. An investment of €100 million will be made to help Glovo expand its network of ghost convenience stores, as it occupies Stoneweg real estate locations for an unspecified period. This is key in Glovo’s goal to have 100 different sites by the end of 2021.

Glovo’s focus on quick convenience store delivery — or “Q-Commerce” — is partly in response to the pandemic’s impact on how consumers get food items and household goods. Restrictions around leaving homes made people more inclined to order groceries, snacks, and household goods for delivery, rather than venture out.

There is great promise in these dark stores as the future of retail. Bloomberg reports that Glovo’s Q-commerce orders have grown 300 per cent from one year ago and plans to hire 500 people by the end of the year. 

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