Amazon to take 'Now' rapid-delivery service to 100 cities in India

E-commerce giant ramps up micro-fulfilment network as quick-commerce competition intensifies

Amazon said it will expand its ultra-fast delivery service, Amazon Now, to 100 cities across India, as it steps up investments in rapid-commerce logistics and fulfillment infrastructure.

 

The company plans to scale the service through more than 1,000 micro-fulfillment centers, extending coverage beyond metros into smaller cities. 

 

Amazon Now, which offers delivery within minutes, will be rolled out in cities including Pune, Hyderabad, Chennai, Kolkata, Jaipur, Lucknow and Ahmedabad, among others, in addition to existing operations in Mumbai, Delhi-NCR and Bengaluru.

 

The service provides a curated assortment of daily essentials, including groceries, personal-care items, beauty and fashion products, small appliances, baby products, pet supplies and healthcare supplements. 

   

“Customers continue to enjoy Amazon Now, appreciating our delivery speed, value and selection — especially the quality of fresh produce sourced directly from farmers,” said Harsh Goyal, vice president, everyday essentials, Amazon India. 

 

“Encouraged by this success, we have further accelerated our expansion plans and will scale Amazon Now to 100 cities, fueled by a network of more than 1,000 micro-fulfillment centers.”

 

Goyal said  this expansion will also help more than 16,000 farmers to leverage the e-commerce firm’s technology and operations to take their produce directly to customers through sellers on Amazon Now. “Customers continue to get the convenience of our fastest delivery speeds on the largest selection offered by our sellers – thousands of daily essentials including perishables in minutes, over a million items on the same day, and another 4 million the next day on Amazon,” said Goyal.

 

Amazon Now’s rapid expansion is a part of Amazon’s investment of over ₹2,800 crore ($300 million) to further strengthen associate safety, health, and financial wellbeing measures while strengthening its operations network. 

 

India’s quick-commerce (qcom) industry, once defined by rapid expansion, is entering a more complex phase as saturation in metro markets begins to weigh on profitability, US-based research firm Bernstein said.

 

There are more than 6,000 dark stores operating nationwide, with a dense overlap across urban pincodes, according to the report. Competition among qcom players has intensified as they chase the same set of customers. This points to diminishing returns for firms even as they expand into smaller cities.

 

“QC (quick commerce) is a way of life in (India’s) top-four cities already. (But) customer behaviour has changed,” it added.

 

The sector has scaled quickly, with more than 5,700-6,000 dark stores operated by leading players including Blinkit, Instamart, Zepto, Flipkart and Amazon as of April 2026, serving roughly 2,600 pincodes and about 230 million people, or around 17 per cent of India’s population.

 

The rapid build-out has been particularly concentrated in large cities. The Bernstein report suggests that dark-store network consolidation or rationalisation is necessary for improving profitability in metros. One approach, adopted by Blinkit and Swiggy, is to push higher average order values through non-grocery categories to drive better margins.

 

Beyond metros, the next phase of growth lies in tier-1 and -2 cities, though this expansion remains uncertain. While these markets offer headroom, they present structural challenges including lower population density, awareness and spending power.

 

Amazon’s chief rival Flipkart is preparing to spin off its quick-commerce service, Flipkart Minutes, into a standalone app ahead of its “Big Billion Days Sale”, according to people familiar with the matter.

 

The service, currently housed within the main Flipkart app, is expected to launch as a separate app in the next quarter, with a pilot targeted around July and a broader rollout planned before year-end, according to the sources.

 

Flipkart’s move follows Swiggy’s launch of a standalone Instamart app, as the company bets quick commerce could outpace food delivery in scale.

 

Analysts say standalone apps can boost visibility, but adoption remains uneven. In India’s quick-commerce market, Blinkit reportedly leads with about 2.6 million orders per day. Zepto follows with an estimated 1.5–1.6 million daily orders, while JioMart processes around 1.6 million orders daily. Swiggy’s Instamart records about 1.2 million daily orders.

 

According to a BCG report, India’s e-commerce market, currently valued at $120-140 billion, is expected to grow to $280–300 billion by 2030, with nearly 440 million shoppers.

 

Plan ahead

• Rollout to cities including Kochi, Amritsar, Mangalore, Visakhapatnam and Lucknow
• Over 16,000 farmers to supply fresh produce via Amazon Now
• Currently offers quick delivery for essentials; over a million items on the same-day, four million on the next-day on Amazon.in
• Prime users see higher shopping frequency; free minutes delivery continues
• ₹2,800 crore investment and over 1,000 micro-fulfilment centres will scale operations