Amazon to introduce 15-minute deliveries in Bengaluru this month for top-selling items

The move marks Amazon’s response to growing competition from ultra-fast delivery players, a segment reshaping consumer expectations in India.

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“On the speed side, our goal has been to make the largest selection of products available the next day, same day," said Amit Agarwal, senior vice president, Emerging Markets, Amazon, in an interview with Mint at the company’s Smbhav Summit in the national capital. 

“Prime Members can enjoy 4 million products the next day; 1 million products, same day, several hundred thousand in a few hours. Starting this December we will take the top-selling products and make them available in 15 minutes. Starting this December, we will take the top-selling products and make them available in 15 minutes."

Doubling down on speed

Amazon’s expansion into ultra-fast deliveries builds on its existing services like Amazon Fresh, which already offers 30-minute to one-hour deliveries for groceries and essentials. 

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Agarwal explained that the company is formalizing this model by creating a dedicated storefront to make it easier for customers to discover these products.

Orders will be fulfilled via a “combination of stores" including dark stores or partnering offline stores to service such deliveries, he said.

“It's a combination of things because you need to be closer to customers. You need smaller dark stores that can hold items closer to customers; in some cases where there is a supply chain already existing, we will obviously leverage that," he said.

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The selection will initially focus on fast-moving consumer goods, fresh produce, and everyday essentials, tapping into Amazon’s existing infrastructure, which processes 4 million next-day deliveries and 1 million same-day shipments.

“We were among the first ones that tried quick deliveries—it was called Prime Now…Given that we have the supply chain we believe now is the right time for us to open it up for 15 minutes," Agarwal added.

India’s e-commerce market is projected to grow from $70 billion in 2022 to $325 billion by the end of the decade, according to Deloitte. Post-pandemic, the market has surged as millions of consumers shifted to online shopping. Marketing data company Kantar estimates that India added 125 million online shoppers over the past three years, with another 80 million expected to join by 2025.

Yet, the rise of quick commerce players—promising deliveries in as little as 10 minutes—has eaten into the market share of both large marketplaces and local stores. Rivals like Flipkart and Myntra have also entered the fray, launching services such as "Flipkart Minutes" and 30-minute delivery in Bengaluru.

According to consulting firm Redseer, the quick commerce market is estimated at $3.34 billion in 2024; this is expected to reach $9.95 billion by 2029, growing at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of greater than 4.5% during the forecast period (2024-2029).

Amazon’s India play

Amazon has been in India for over a decade and has committed to investing $26 billion in the country by 2030, with $11 billion already poured into infrastructure such as data centres, fulfilment centres, logistics networks, and digital payment systems. The company’s efforts have created 1.4 million jobs and boosted exports from India.

“Our investments have been in the same areas. How do we digitize more sellers to add more selection, how do we build  logistics. A lot of investment goes in hard physical investments, building fulfilment centres, delivery centres, sort centres, etc. All of this has also created 1.4 million jobs," Agarwal said. 

Amazon is also channelling investments into technology, particularly AWS (Amazon Web Services) and Prime Video, to diversify its offerings and strengthen its foothold across verticals. “Our job here is to also make a large business that's profitable. We have made substantial progress towards building a profitable business," he added.

On Tuesday, Amazon also made a set of announcements. 

The company is increasing its exports commitment four-fold and plans to enable over $80 billion in cumulative exports from India by 2030. Amazon will continue to enable exports from various sectors, including home and kitchen products, apparel and textiles, toys, health and nutrition, etc. 

Amazon also signed an MoU with the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT). As part of the announcement Amazon has earmarked $120 million from its Smbhav Venture Fund to back startups that digitize consumer goods manufacturing in India.

Also read | Amazon India moving headquarters in Bengaluru to save costs

Agarwal who was elevated to head emerging markets (UAE, Saudi, South Africa, Australia, Singapore, Mexico, Brazil, etc.) in 2022 said the India business is growing at a rapid pace. Globally, Amazon does not report India specific numbers.

“India is our largest emerging market; it’s the oldest emerging market. Emerging as a set is growing very rapidly. India as a business is going very, very well for us. When we see individual categories like grocery—it has been growing more than 50% year-over-year for the last three years. Our Prime membership has grown 30% year-over-year," he said. 

Amazon Prime is the company's subscription service that offers faster deliveries along with access to its video content platform etc.

In fiscal year 2024, Amazon Seller Services, the marketplace arm of the company, reported a 14% increase in operating revenue to ₹25,406 crore, while losses narrowed by 29% to ₹3,470 crore, according to business intelligence platform Tofler.

Meanwhile, online marketplaces Amazon and Flipkart have also faced severe regulatory scrutiny by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) in India over anti-competitive practices that allege these marketplaces favour select sellers on their platform.

Agarwal declined to comment on the investigation as it is “ongoing".

“I cannot comment on an ongoing investigation. We have always complied and continue to comply with all regulations; we provide any information that the investigation requires. Our approach has always been to empower our seller with capabilities," he added.