Ethical and Sustainable Practices as Drivers of Brand Equity among Millennial and Gen-Z Consumers in Indian Quick Commerce: A Systematic Literature Review

Abstract

Quick commerce's (Q-commerce) explosive growth has altered how consumers assess retail brands by fusing extreme convenience and digitally mediated experiences with rising standards for moral behavior and environmental responsibility. With a focus on the Indian Q-commerce sector, this systematic literature review investigates how ethical and sustainable activities may influence brand equity among Millennials and Generation Z customers. Following duplication removal and metadata-based theme screening, 124 Scopus records published between 2020 and 2026 were chosen from five Scopus exporters to make up the review corpus. Four overlapping themes comprise the corpus: Q-commerce or digital retail (31), Millennials/Gen Z (86), ethical and sustainable activities (104 records), and brand equity-related results (29). The theme counts overlap since individual research can address more than one issue. The trend of publications with 35 records in 2025 and 34 in 2026 in the supplied export, the publication pattern shows a significant increase after 2022. According to the synthesis, customer perceptions like authenticity, trust, environmental value, participation, and skepticism toward green promises are the most reliable ways to link sustainability and ethics to brand-related results. There is, however, little concrete data that combines all four components: Indian Q-commerce, Millennials/Gen Z, ethics/sustainability, and brand equity. Therefore, the paper suggests an integrative framework wherein ethical and sustainable initiatives impact consumer perceptions, which in turn contribute to brand image, brand trust, loyalty, and advocacy. These relationships are shaped by Q-commerce-specific service conditions and generational characteristics. A study agenda for empirical investigations in India's quickly changing Q-commerce ecosystem, theoretical claims, and managerial implications round up the review.