Amazon’s ultra-fast delivery service doubles its footprint in two weeks, with nearly 800 micro-fulfilment and urban fulfilment centres supporting the expansion
Amazon has expanded its ultra-fast delivery service Amazon Now to more than 120 cities across India, doubling its footprint in just two weeks as the e-commerce major ramps up its delivery infrastructure ahead of the festive season.
The expansion takes Amazon Now into cities including Amritsar, Abohar, Jalandhar, Ambala, Mangalore, Manipal, Vizag, Kochi, Changanassery, Bhubaneswar and Karwar. The service offers tens of thousands of products across groceries, fruits and vegetables, frozen food, personal care, fashion and beauty, small appliances, home and kitchen products and other daily essentials.
Orders are fulfilled through a network of nearly 800 micro-fulfilment and urban fulfilment centres across the country.
“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,” said Harsh Goyal, Vice President – Everyday Essentials, Amazon India.
Goyal said Amazon Now is the fastest-growing ecommerce business unit in Amazon India’s history, with orders doubling every quarter. The company is scaling the service as it seeks to make faster delivery available to consumers beyond the major metropolitan markets.
Amazon Now Targets 300 Cities
The latest expansion comes weeks after Amazon said Amazon Now had crossed $1 billion in annualised gross sales in India over the preceding three-month period.
Amazon is targeting more than 300 cities for Amazon Now as it seeks to build a large delivery-in-minutes network across the country. The company is also expanding its specialised fulfilment infrastructure to support a wider selection of products at faster delivery speeds.
Amazon said the network is designed to offer tens of thousands of products within minutes or a few hours, more than one million products on a same-day basis, over four million products the next day and millions more through Prime delivery.
Amazon Now Steps Up Festive Push
The expansion comes ahead of Amazon’s Great Indian Festival, which begins on October 8. Customers will be able to access deals across a range of products through Amazon Now during the festive sale.
The broader Amazon.in platform will also offer deals across smartphones, electronics, fashion, beauty, home essentials and other categories.
Customers using SBI credit and debit cards and EMI transactions will be eligible for a 10 per cent instant discount, while Prime members can access additional savings of up to 10 per cent.
Amazon said customers can check Amazon Now availability in their location by opening the Amazon shopping app and looking for the ‘Now’ banner.
