Amazon is expanding its quick commerce service ‘Amazon Now’ to 300+ cities. It will deliver groceries and other items within minutes. The company has also launched ‘Samman’ scheme for the welfare of delivery partners, which includes education and insurance.
New Delhi: Now ‘Speed’ is everything in the Indian e-commerce market. Gone are the times when after ordering online one had to wait for two-three days for the goods. Quick Commerce in the country has changed the way customers do shopping. Now, to capture this fast-paced market, the world’s largest e-commerce company ‘Amazon’ has made a tremendous plan. The company is going to expand its network extensively to deliver essential goods to the customers at their doorstep in just a few minutes.
Under this big strategy, the company has officially announced that it will start its fastest delivery service ‘Amazon Now’ in more than 300 cities of the country.
Just after this big announcement by Amazon, the arrival of the company’s Global CEO Andy Jassy to India is making a lot of headlines. He personally visited the Micro-Fulfillment Center of ‘Amazon Now’ in Mumbai. Jaisi took a closer look at how the modern technology and process of ‘delivery within minutes’ works in India. It is clear from his visit how serious Amazon is at the global level about India’s quick commerce market.
What is Amazon Now? And what else is available here?
At present, ‘Amazon Now’ service is available only in more than 15 big cities of the country including Bengaluru, Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Pune and Kochi. More than 5 crore customers are already taking advantage of this, and soon this facility will be available to people in a total of 300 cities.
Main products available on Amazon Now:
- Groceries including green vegetables and fresh fruits
- Personal Care and Beauty Products
- Fashion Clothing & Accessories
- Thousands of small home appliances and kitchen essentials
This instant service of Amazon has become so popular among Indians that the number of orders is doubling every quarter since its launch. According to company data, since Amazon Prime members started using this service, their total shopping has increased three times.
Announcement of ‘Samman’ scheme for delivery partners
The real heroes of delivering goods to customers so quickly and safely are the delivery partners, who work hard day and night. For the well-being and safety of thousands of such frontline workers, Amazon has started a big welfare program named ‘Samman’. A large part of the $300 million fund that Amazon recently announced for investment in India will be spent on this scheme.
Benefits available under ‘Samman’ scheme:
Free education to children: A special scholarship will be given by the company for the higher education of the children of delivery partners.
Health Insurance and Protection: Every partner will get the facility of free health and life insurance. Along with this, road safety training and help in availing the benefits of government welfare scheme will also be provided.
‘Aashraya’ Rest Centres: This year, Amazon is setting up 250 ‘Aashray’ centers across the country to help its delivery partners, who work in inclement weather, take some rest and freshen up during work. The most special thing about these centers is that not only Amazon, but delivery partners of any company like Swiggy, Zomato, Blinkit can come and relax here!
“The fastest growing segment in our history”
“Amazon Now is the fastest growing segment in our history. Given the tremendous response we have received from Indian customers, we have decided to take it to 300 cities. This would not have been possible without the consistent hard work of our delivery partners, who are the real backbone of our e-commerce business. Hence, our objective behind the ‘Samman’ scheme is that as our business grows, the quality of life of our partners who drive us forward also improves.”
— Sameer Kumar, Country Manager, Amazon India
Overall, India’s quick commerce market is currently dominated by homegrown companies like Blinkit, Zepto and Swiggy Instamart. In such a situation, there is no doubt that Amazon’s entry into 300 cities with ‘Amazon Now’ will give rise to a big competition in the coming days.