Amazon to soon enter India’s burgeoning quick commerce market
Quick commerce, the last minute delivery service, is fast catching the fancy of Indian consumers. It offers unparalleled convenience of ordering stuff last minute and receiving it within minutes.
On an average anything ordered on quick commerce platforms is delivered within 8-10 minutes, albeit at a slightly higher price.
After tasting humongous success with ecommerce, Amazon is now eying to enter quick commerce market. The ecommerce giant is expected to launch its own quick commerce service by early next year, currently dominated by the likes of BlinkIt and Zepto.
Nishant Sardana, the category leader for smartphones and accessories at Amazon India, has been identified to lead the quick commerce vertical, reported Economic Times. Former Cloudtail CEO Ranjit Babu, who managed the wireless and home entertainment businesses at Amazon India, will now oversee consumer electronics, large appliances, and other verticals.
Flipkart’s entry into quick commerce business with Flipkart Minutes and Tata Digital-owned BigBasket’s announcement of its 100% pivot to the quick delivery space may have coaxed Amazon to claim their share of the pie.
Flipkart Minutes was first launched in Bengaluru and is now planned to be expanded to Delhi and Mumbai soon.
Till now Amazon has been offering grocery and perishables delivery on scheduled basis, just like Flipkart and BigBasket through Amazon Fresh. However, its entry in quick commerce is expected to disrupt the market and impact leaders such as Blinkit, Zepto, and Swiggy Instamart.
Recently there was a buzz that Amazon was trying to acquire Swiggy Instamart. While there is no clarity on the deal yet, ET added that there is an ongoing discussions between the two companies.
Amazon’s plans to enter quick commerce also coincide with the exit of Manish Tiwary, country manager for Amazon India, who quit the company after being there for eight years. Tiwary will remain with Amazon until October, and he will be replaced by Amit Agarwal, vice president of India and emerging markets.
