Amazon India, a leading player in the e-commerce industry, has recently revealed its plans to expand its grocery business, Amazon Fresh, to more than 130 cities across the country. This strategic move includes the inclusion of cities such as Ambala, Aurangabad, Hoshiarpur, Dharwad, Una, and Suri. As Amazon competes with Flipkart, which is owned by Walmart, this expansion aims to further strengthen its presence in the Indian market and cater to the growing demand for online grocery shopping. Before this expansion, Amazon Fresh operated in over 60 cities nationwide.

Launched in 2021, the service provides a diverse array of FMGC products, including fresh and packaged groceries such as fruits and vegetables sourced from more than 11,000 farmers. Additionally, Amazon Fresh offers chilled products, beauty items, baby care products, personal care items, and pet supplies.

It goes without saying that the Indian grocery industry is experiencing heightened competition, with various platforms such as Flipkart, Reliance's JioMart, and BigBasket intensifying their efforts in this domain.

Amazon Fresh is experiencing rapid growth in the face of growing competition within the grocery industry. Emerging quick commerce platforms like Swiggy Instamart, Zepto, and Zomato-owned Blinkit, which promise delivery within 10 minutes, are providing stiff competition to traditional retailers supported by significant venture capital investments.

Currently, Amazon does not have any plans to enter the quick commerce sector. Instead, the company aims to maintain its competitiveness by providing scheduled same-day deliveries within a four-hour timeframe. Additionally, in certain areas, Amazon offers two-hour deliveries to further enhance customer satisfaction.

Harsh Goyal, the Director and Head - Fresh and Everyday Essentials, Amazon India, mentioned,"Amazon Fresh offers customers not only fast delivery, but also a wide variety of everyday products, great discounts, and top-notch fruits and vegetables. Orders are delivered to customers within 2-4 hour time slots. Amazon is constantly enhancing the speed of order delivery to customers."

Furthermore, BigBasket offers deliveries within two hours in 45 cities and aims to expand this service to more locations.

Amazon fresh starts their delivery services from 7 am to 10 am and 7 pm to 10 pm in major cities, with same-day deliveries already started in 20 cities for various products. It also allows the customers with benefits like cashback offers and bank discounts. Furthermore, Amazon Fresh has introduced thematic stores and events like the mango store, summer store, and IPL store.

Srikant Sree Ram, Director of Amazon Fresh India said,“Our expansion and focus on quality products demonstrate our commitment to serve customers and offer them the best online shopping experience for fresh produce and daily essentials."