Amazon Fresh ups presence in tier-II, -III mkts; expands to over 170 cities

Amazon India has expanded its full-basket grocery service Amazon Fresh to over 170 towns and cities across the country. The expansion coincides with Amazon Fresh’s 50 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) growth in the second half of 2024 against the second half of 2023. 

 

Amazon Fresh offers a comprehensive range of wet and dry groceries, including fruits, vegetables, dairy including milk and bread, frozen products, beauty items, baby care essentials, personal care products, and pet supplies.

 

Srikant Sree Ram, director of Amazon Fresh India, said in an interview: “Customers appreciate our service and want Amazon Fresh to expand to their cities. The key differentiators include the wide range of products we offer, along with the exceptional quality of our fruits, vegetables, and perishables – critical elements in the grocery category.” 

 

“Additionally, our unmatched savings, including cashbacks and partnerships with banks, provide added value. The convenience of our flexible shopping slots also enables customers to plan their shopping seamlessly,” Sree Ram added.

 

“We have seen a 50 per cent Y-o-Y growth, which reflects the positive response from our customers and validates the direction we are heading. We are committed to this path. One of the main factors contributing to this success is our ability to make Amazon Fresh easily accessible within the Amazon store, ensuring a seamless experience for our customers.”

 

To ensure freshness and quality, Amazon Fresh sellers source fruits and vegetables from over 11,000 farmers. All products undergo a rigorous “four-step quality check” before reaching customers, the company said. 

 

It added that this commitment to quality has contributed to the increasing customer preference for Amazon Fresh, driven by its savings, vast selection, and reliable deliveries.

 

The expansion of Amazon Fresh to towns like Gorakhpur, Chittoor, Ambala, Vijaywada and many more means more customers can get large savings and deals from Amazon Fresh sellers and bank partners while building their weekly and monthly grocery baskets. 

 

Sree Ram said expanding the product assortment for two-hour delivery has been a significant focus for the firm. A recent example is from Maharashtra, where Amazon has a dedicated collection center in Mahabaleshwar for seasonal strawberries, highlighting the company’s sourcing efforts. 

 

“I met a farmer there who supplies exclusive white strawberries to Amazon Fresh, available only in Pune and Mumbai. Similarly, we offer other seasonal products like Alphonso mangoes and onions from Nasik,” said Sree Ram. 

 

Rise of quick commerce

 

Amazon Fresh faces stiff competition from quick commerce platforms, such as Zomato-owned Blinkit, Swiggy Instamart, and Zepto, which deliver consumer items within 30 minutes.

 

“The tremendous growth we have experienced, especially during the peak of quick commerce in India last year, validates that our approach to Amazon Fresh – focusing on assortment, quality, savings, and flexible delivery slots – resonates well with customers,” said Sree Ram. 

 

“However, we recognise that everyone has different shopping missions. We all use quick commerce when it fits our needs. That is why we have launched a pilot for ‘Amazon Now’ in select pin codes in Bengaluru, testing 10-minute delivery to explore new opportunities. Our success with Amazon Fresh gives us confidence that we are on the right path. As long as we stay focused on these core elements, customers will continue to choose us,” he said.

 

AI in fruits and vegetables

 

Technology is key to Amazon Fresh’s supply chain, from sourcing produce directly from thousands of farmers to quality checks at collection centers and delivering fresh products to customers’ doorsteps.

 

At the sourcing stage, Amazon has created an ecosystem with a team of agronomists offering agri-tech expertise to optimise farm yields and product quality. Machine learning (ML) and computer vision algorithms streamline supply-chain processes, and identify defects in fruits and vegetables, reducing waste.

 

“Our key innovation in grocery lies in fulfillment. We use machine learning to empower farmers with insights about their crops, including detecting infestations through our Kisan app,” said Sree Ram. “Throughout the supply chain, we have technology-driven quality checks. Even in last-mile delivery, technology ensures products are placed in the correct temperature-controlled bags, maintaining their quality until they reach the customer.”

 

The produce undergoes a four-step quality check at collection centers before being sent to processing facilities. Shelf-monitoring cameras feed into ML models to detect quality issues.

 

At processing centers, the produce is sorted, graded, and packed in various sizes, and then shipped to Amazon Fresh fulfillment centers for fast delivery.

 

Freshness is maintained by packing chilled items in insulated bags with gel pads, keeping temperatures between -5°C to 0°C for up to 5 hours, and frozen items in gel pads maintaining -24°C to -18°C. After delivery, gel pads are returned to blast freezers for reuse.