Amazon Fresh expands to 270+ cities in India
What's the story
Amazon Fresh, the grocery division of Amazon India, has expanded its reach to over 270 cities. This is a massive increase from just about 60 cities two years ago. The expansion has been matched by strong consumer adoption, with the company reporting a whopping 40% year-on-year (YoY) growth in sales value during the first two days of its ongoing Great Indian Festival sale.
Growth story
Consumers appreciate quality of perishables and savings
Srikant Sree Ram, Director at Amazon Fresh, expressed his happiness over the company's growth. He said, "We were in only about 30 cities in the country three years ago, and today we are in more than 270 cities." He added that consumers have consistently appreciated the quality of fruits, vegetables, and perishables on Amazon Fresh as well as the savings they get.
Sales surge
Categories that have seen a spike in demand
The festive season has seen a spike in demand across all categories. During the first two days of the sale, dry fruits and nuts grew 21x YoY, multivitamins 5x, sports nutrition 4x, and beauty products 70%. Even niche categories like nail care saw a growth of five times. Gifting categories also witnessed a massive jump, with gift sets growing by an impressive 12 times.
Financial impact
GST reforms boost festive sales
The GST reforms that coincided with the Amazon Great Indian Festival sale also boosted festive sales. Sree Ram said, "Consumers saved crores of rupees, and in just two days, more than ₹260 crore was saved through SBI debit and credit cards." The company has also noticed a shift in buying behavior from monthly stocking to weekly shopping.
Strategic growth
Doubling of farmer base in 2 years
The 4.5X growth in expansion has been driven by leveraging Amazon.in's marketplace signals and Prime member density to identify demand clusters. In the last two years, the company has doubled its farmer base from 6,000 to 13,000, sourcing nearly 70% of fruits and vegetables from within a 200km radius of customer locations.
Service expansion
Fulfillment done through slotted delivery in 2-hour windows
Amazon Fresh now offers over 40,000 products, a huge jump from just 3,000-4,000 three years ago. Fulfillment is done through slotted delivery in two-hour windows covering at least 90% of pincodes in any city it enters. Major metros like Bengaluru have over 20 fulfillment points, while smaller cities are served by a single center.