Despite a formidable presence in India's e-commerce market, Amazon has been a late entrant into the rapidly expanding quick commerce sector. Now, the tech giant is moving aggressively to scale its "Amazon Now" service, aiming to reach 100 cities across India by the end of this year.
The core of Amazon's accelerated growth strategy involves direct sourcing from farmers and a significant expansion of its logistics network. The company is rapidly adding new collection centers and micro-fulfillment centers (MFCs) to streamline the supply chain for fresh produce and other essentials.
Rapid Infrastructure Expansion
Karan Chugh, director of fulfillment centers at Amazon India, highlighted the pace of expansion. "Even if you take Pune as an example, in January or February, we didn’t have a single store... Today in May we are already touching 40," Chugh stated. Nationally, Amazon currently operates 350 MFCs and plans to increase this to nearly 1,000 by year-end, effectively opening two new MFCs daily.
Collection centers, crucial for direct farmer sourcing, are also seeing significant growth. Shrikant Sree Ram, director of Amazon Fresh at Amazon India, noted that collection centers in Maharashtra alone are set to more than double from the current 10 this year. New facilities have been established in various regions, including Pollachi (Tamil Nadu) for coconuts, Solan (Himachal Pradesh), Paota (Rajasthan), Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, and Bihar. Farmers receive payments within hours, linked to local market rates.
Investing in Growth and Competing in a Dynamic Market
Amazon's ambitious expansion is backed by substantial investment. Following a Rs 2,000 crore investment last year, the company announced an additional Rs 2,800 crore this year, earmarked for infrastructure, associates, wellness, and safety initiatives.
The quick commerce market in India is fiercely competitive. Consultants Redseer reported that in January 2026, the segment's Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) reached Rs 11,000 crore, marking a 100 percent year-on-year growth. Daily order volumes climbed 95 percent to 7.8 million, with monthly transacting users expanding 95 percent to 5.2 crore.
Amazon Now faces established rivals:
- Blinkit: The market leader, operating 2,243 dark stores across over 200 cities.
- Swiggy Instamart: Active in 129 cities, it doubled its dark store count to 1,143 by March 2026.
- Zepto: Expected to file for an IPO estimated at around $1 billion soon.
- JioMart (Reliance Retail): Rapidly scaling its hyperlocal commerce, with daily orders showing a four-fold increase in the January-March quarter, serviced by over 3,100 stores across 1,200 cities.
Leveraging Prime and Global Ambitions
While playing catch-up, Amazon aims to leverage its large Prime member base. Amazon CEO Andy Jassy recently noted that Amazon Now orders are increasing by 25 percent month-on-month, with Prime members tripling their shopping frequency once they begin using the service.
The quick commerce initiative is not limited to India; Amazon Now is also expanding into other global markets, including the UAE, select cities in the USA and the UK, Brazil, Mexico, and Japan, according to Karan Chugh. Amazon emphasizes a consumer-oriented approach, using extensive feedback from its large customer and Prime member base to guide product and service development.