Samir Kumar, Country Manager for Amazon India, announced the move on December 10 during Amazon’s Smbhav 2024 summit, marking a significant step under his leadership just two months after succeeding Manish Tiwary.
“Our strategy has always focused on ‘Selection, Value and Convenience’ and our vision is to build a large profitable business in India. So, while we focus on implementing our strategy to offer the largest selection at fastest speeds and greatest value to customers in every single pin-code across the country, we will be starting a pilot to give our customers a choice to get their everyday essentials in 15 min or less,” Kumar told CNBC-TV18.
This also marks Amazon’s global debut in the quick commerce space, making it the only large e-commerce platform yet to venture into this fast-paced market. Reports suggest that the platform will first launch a trial in Bengaluru and then expand to other cities.
Reports suggest that Amazon has been developing this service for several months, piloting at a time when Indian consumers are increasingly shifting from traditional one- or two-day deliveries to near-instant quick commerce services.
Quick commerce is booming in India, driven by players like Zomato’s Blinkit and Swiggy’s Instamart, backed by SoftBank, which promise deliveries of groceries, electronics, and other goods in as little as 10 minutes.
The quick commerce industry in India has grown exponentially, with projected annual sales expected to surpass $6 billion this year, a sharp rise from $100 million in 2020, according to Datum Intelligence.
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Amazon’s entry into quick commerce will face intense competition, with Flipkart launching its Minutes service ahead of the festive season, BigBasket clocking over ₹900 crore in gross sales last month through its quick commerce push, and Tata Digital debuting its Neu Flash service in October.
(Edited by : Shoma Bhattacharjee)
First Published: Dec 10, 2024 6:15 PM IST
