SUMMARY
Amazon has expanded the four-hour delivery service to 50 cities for Prime members from 14 cities earlier
The ecommerce giant first introduced same-day delivery service in India in 2017 and has been increasing the number of cities with the service since then
Ecommerce companies are expected to see sales of $11.8 Bn during the 2022 festive season
In order to keep up with the growing quick commerce frenzy in India, ecommerce giant Amazon is expanding its four-hour delivery services to Prime members in 50 cities across India.
In a blog post on Friday (September 23), Amazon said that thousands of products across categories like consumer electronics, books, toys, babycare, kitchen, luxury, sports, and personal care equipment will now be available for free delivery within four hours in 50 cities.
Earlier, this service was available in only 14 cities.
Customers in cities including Surat, Mysuru, Mangalore, Bhopal, Nashik, Nellore, Anantapur, Warangal, and Ghaziabad, among others, will now have a swifter shopping experience, it said. Specialised buildings that fulfil orders are located strategically in these cities to cover different parts and ensure swift deliveries, it added.
The ecommerce giant first introduced its same-day delivery service in India in 2017. Since then, it has been constantly increasing the number of cities where the service is available.
“We’re always innovating to bring our customers new levels of convenience and delivery options that work best for them; making same-day delivery, within hours the latest example of delivery innovations that give customers more choice, speed, and convenience,” said Abhinav Singh, Director of customer Fulfilment, Supply Chain & Amazon Transportation Services, Amazon India.
Amazon’s announcement comes on the day the company kicked off its much-awaited annual festive season sale ‘The Great Indian Sale’.
The festive season sale before Dussehra and Diwali in India plays a crucial role for the ecommerce platforms like Amazon, its rival Flipkart, and other players in churning out a good amount of revenue every year.
During the Covid-19 pandemic-ridden 2020, consultancy firm Redseer had predicted festive season sales of ecommerce companies to be at $4.1 Bn. However, these companies clocked $7.5 Bn in festive sales that year. Similarly, Amazon and Flipkart narrowly beat the 2021 festive season sale prediction of $7.5 Bn.
In a recent report, RedSeer said that the online sales in the country are expected to grow 28% on a year-on-year basis to $11.8 Bn during the 2022 festive season.
Amazon has also announced waiving 50% selling fees for new sellers joining its platform to increase the number of sellers during the festive season.
It has also expanded its fulfilment centre network and increased its storage capacity by 40% to support the expected rise in sales. The company currently has over 60 fulfilment and sortation centres across 19 states along with more than 1,850 Amazon-owned partner stations.
In India, besides Flipkart and Reliance, Amazon also competes with the new-age startup Meesho.
Amazon Seller Services, which runs Amazon’s marketplace unit in India, narrowed its loss 23% year-on-year to INR 3,649.2 Cr in FY22, while its operating revenue rose over 32% to INR 21,462 Cr during the year.
