Amazon has expanded Amazon Now, its ultra-fast delivery service, to more than 120 Indian cities, doubling its footprint in two weeks as the company scales up its fulfilment network ahead of the festive shopping season.
The service is now available in cities including Amritsar, Abohar, Jalandhar, Ambala, Mangalore, Manipal, Visakhapatnam, Kochi, Changanassery, Bhubaneswar and Karwar, Amazon said in a statement on Friday. The expansion extends the service beyond major metropolitan markets into smaller cities and regional urban centres.
Amazon Now offers tens of thousands of products, including groceries, fruits and vegetables, frozen food, personal care items, fashion and beauty products, small appliances, and home and kitchen goods. Orders are fulfilled through a network of nearly 800 micro-fulfilment and urban fulfilment centres, according to the company.
The network model places inventory closer to customers so that orders can be processed and delivered within minutes. Amazon’s expansion therefore depends not only on delivery personnel but also on the availability of smaller fulfilment facilities within or near urban neighbourhoods. The company has not disclosed the number of Amazon Now centres operating in each of the newly added cities.
“We are delighted to take ultra-fast deliveries with Amazon Now to India’s hinterland—from Amritsar and Abohar in the north to Kochi and Changanassery in the south—ahead of the Amazon Great Indian Festival,” Harsh Goyal, Vice President, Everyday Essentials, Amazon India, said in the statement.
Goyal said Amazon Now was the fastest-growing e-commerce business unit in Amazon India’s history, with orders doubling every quarter. He added that the rollout was intended to make fast and reliable delivery available to more customers across the country during the festive season.
Amazon said in September that Amazon Now had crossed $1 billion in annualised gross sales in India, based on the previous three-month period. The company plans to expand the service to more than 300 cities and build what it describes as India’s largest “delivery-in-minutes” network.
The company’s broader fulfilment network is designed to offer tens of thousands of products within minutes or a few hours, more than one million products through same-day delivery, and more than four million products the next day. Millions of additional products are available through Prime delivery, Amazon said.
The latest expansion comes before the Amazon Great Indian Festival, which begins on October 8. Amazon said customers would be able to access offers across smartphones, electronics, fashion, beauty and home essentials. State Bank of India credit and debit card customers will be eligible for a 10 per cent instant discount on eligible transactions, while Prime members can receive additional savings of up to 10 per cent.
Customers can check whether Amazon Now is available in their location by looking for the “Now” banner in the Amazon shopping app. The company’s stated next step is to take the service to more than 300 cities while continuing to expand its micro-fulfilment and urban fulfilment network.
