With Emphasis on Beauty and Home Next, Amazon Begins Implementing 10-Minute Delivery Service

E-commerce giant Amazon has begun implementing its 10-minute delivery service, Amazon Now, in a few Bengaluru pincodes, weeks after testing it internally with staff members. According to a media report, which cited people with knowledge of the situation, the corporation plans to extend its rapid commerce services into further regions in the upcoming weeks. According to the report, this rapid commerce platform, which was internally dubbed "Tez," is interacting with companies in the kitchen, home, and beauty sectors as part of its strategy to expand its business.

Many merchants are negotiating to join Amazon, and once they stabilise everyday necessities and groceries, these players should be starting their trade by March or April. According to a senior executive from a company that sells its goods on well-known rapid commerce platforms, "Beauty and home are the next focus areas," the report stated.

Giant Testing Waters of Quick Commerce Sector

According to an Amazon representative, the company has always prioritised providing customers with a large selection together with quick and easy shipping. This limited pilot in a few Bengaluru pin codes is an experiment to deliver even faster speeds on a selection of daily necessities from our vendors that customers frequently require immediately. The brand is constantly evolving to give customers even more value. It should be noted that the e-commerce behemoth first told a number of media outlets that it had started testing Tez in December, using its staff in a few Bengaluru pincodes.

In the meantime, Amazon has started selling daily necessities and foods through Amazon Fresh. The business stated in November of last year that it was refocusing its efforts to increase order deliveries in 20 to 30 minutes. Its food delivery division stated at the beginning of 2024 that it had expanded its footprint to 130 cities, including Ambala, Aurangabad, Hoshiarpur, Dharwad, and Una. After rival Flipkart launched "Minutes" in August of last year, Amazon appears to have entered the rapid commerce arena late, recognising the opportunity to increase its client base and hold onto market dominance.

India’s Quick Commerce Race has Just Begun

Notably, this trend occurs at a time when well-established rapid commerce operators have begun to grow their dark shop count and reach tier II and III cities due to increased rivalry from up-and-coming labels in the market. Zomato, a prominent player in the foodtech industry, announced earlier this year that it has made significant investments in its rapid commerce, with the goal of building 2,000 dark shopfronts by December 2025.

Since 2023, when it stopped operating in more than 200 places, Zomato has been slow to expand. Conversely, Swiggy became optimistic about tier II and tier III towns and even launched its 10-minute meal delivery service in 400 cities.

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StartupTalkyNitin Konde