A dark store is a store physically similar to a traditional store, but with no customers — it is closed to the public and dedicated exclusively to preparing and dispatching online orders, typically for fast delivery (same-day or sub-hourly). The model gained traction during the pandemic and remains strong in categories such as food (Mercadona, Continente), where fast delivery is a competitive differentiator.
The dark store is optimised for logistics operation rather than customer experience. Tighter aisles, a layout optimised for picking (best-sellers in easy zones, heavy items at the right height), a team trained in preparation speed. It may have dozens or hundreds of pickers operating in parallel, and a real-time dashboard showing the progress of each order.
Dark-store software combines an adapted POS (with no end-customer view), a robust WMS (KORA Inventory in the INFOS context), and direct integration with delivery platforms. The dark store is a strategic option for chains that want to offer fast delivery in dense urban areas without sacrificing existing stores to the omnichannel logic.