UP extremely important, one of fastest-growing markets for Amazon: Srikanth

Terming Uttar Pradesh as an "extremely important" and "one of the fastest-growing markets" for Amazon.in, a senior company official said 2023 witnessed healthy double digit growth, and that momentum has continued this year, too.

"In Uttar Pradesh, we are delivering across all districts and all serviceable pin codes. In 2023, we saw more than 25 per cent growth year-on-year, and that momentum has continued in 2024 as well," K N Srikanth, Director, Home, Kitchen and Outdoors, Amazon India, told PTI.

"In the first three months (of 2024), we have seen more than 25 per cent growth year-on-year on a large base. So it's a very important and large market for us," he said.

"Lakhs of our customers, and more than 1.6 lakh sellers are based out of Uttar Pradesh," K N Srikanth, who was in Lucknow on Tuesday to attend a daylong event to "celebrate the success of Amazon in the region", said.

"Hence you will also see that we have large fulfilment centres here to store products from sellers, and ship them across the country," he said.

The company also confirmed Uttar Pradesh as one of the largest markets for Amazon.in, with Lucknow, Noida, and Ghaziabad contributing to more than 50 per cent of the total demand coming from the state.

Speaking about the challenges of reaching last-mile connectivity, he said, "We have concepts like I have space --- where if you are a small shop in a remote place, you can become the delivery hub. Customers can come and pick up the products from there."

He said there are 2,700 such hubs in UP, and it generates revenue for the hub owner itself.

On sales during Holi and Diwali, Srikanth said, "Last year, the Great Indian Festival during Diwali was a phenomenal success. More than 110 crore customers' visits happened during the 35-day-long sale period. Tier-2, tier-3, smaller towns contributed to over 80 per cent of new customers and purchases during that period.