With India’s quick commerce defying all odds and expert commentary over the past couple of years, the sector is seeing massive interest from e-commerce players. While Flipkart launched its ‘Flipkart Minutes’ service a few days back, its now Amazon which will join the ranks of Zepto, Blinkit, Swiggy Instamart, and others in a bid to tame the complex Indian quick commerce space.
The new service is named ‘Tez’ (Hindi for Fast) and is set to begin in Bengaluru later this month.
The quick-commerce market in India has seen rapid expansion, with consumers increasingly gravitating toward services that offer faster delivery times. In fact, what started as quick delivery of basic essentials has quickly expanded to all sorts of commodities — from iPhones to fashion and what not. The rapid demand is not limited to daily essentials anymore, with consumers increasingly demanding access to everything in quick commerce mode. Interestingly, quick commerce platforms delivered 10g Gold coins on the recent Indian festival of Diwali, with consumers lapping up to buy into the convenience of it all.
“Our goal remains the same, which is that we want to offer the largest selection of products to the largest customer base at the fastest speeds…we do recognise that our urban customer base is keen on getting a small selection of products, mostly everyday essentials, delivered faster,” Amit Agarwal, Amazon’s Senior Vice President for India and Emerging Markets, commented on the matter. For now, the company has not fully disclosed which products will be part of this rapid delivery model. However, it is expected to include groceries, home essentials, and personal care products.
The entry of Amazon India into the domestic quick commerce sector comes at a time when the market has been rapidly growing and there has been a shift from traditional shopping models to faster deliveries- it is estimated to be worth $3.34 billion this year and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 23.88% between 2024-29. Companies like Zomato-owned Blinkit, Swiggy Instamart, and the $5Bn quick commerce poster buy Zepto are already established players in this sector, offering delivery times ranging from 10 to 15 minutes. Additionally, Flipkart, Amazon’s biggest rival in India, launched Flipkart Minutes earlier this year, which promises quick deliveries of groceries and other items in as little as 10 minutes.
Considering the nature of quick commerce, Amazon is rather late to the game. However, the e-commerce behemoth has an advantage with its existing infrastructure, technology, and delivery network in the country, which it can leverage to offer a high level of convenience for consumers. “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,” Samir Kumar, Country Manager of Amazon India, commented on the matter.
Amazon India recently posted a steady 14% rise in operating revenue for fiscal year 2024, totaling ₹25,406 crore, marking a slower growth as compared to previous years.
