Amazon India Enables Pickups from More Retail Outlets for its Online Grocery Orders
Amazon India is now allowing customers to pick up their online grocery orders from more retail locations. This comes at a time when the e-grocery space is seeing fierce competition from Tata-owned BigBasket, Walmart-owned Flipkart, Grofers, and Reliance Industries' JioMart for larger market share.
The US-based ecommerce company is doing in India what it has done with Whole Foods in the US, where customers can order on Amazon Fresh online and pick it up at the nearest Whole Foods store in select cities.
Amazon paid more than $13 billion for Whole Foods in 2017.
Amazon Fresh online grocery orders in Bengaluru can now be picked up within two to three hours from the nearest More store. The service is now available in many city pin codes. Unlike most ecommerce deliveries, cash-on-delivery is not currently available for these orders.
Amazon purchased the More retail chain from the Aditya Birla Group in 2019 in collaboration with private equity firm Samara Capital.
According to industry executives and analysts, Amazon's free store pick-up for online grocery orders adds another model to the hyperlocal play for e-grocery orders and delivery.
“Some companies are exploring various models, and this seems to be another hyperlocal model being tried out. This is also tailor-made for someone like Reliance Industries,” said Arpit Mathur, partner at management consultancy Kearney. “We will have to wait and see how this plays out in India compared to the US which is a different market.”
It remains to be seen how Indian consumers value the convenience of home delivery versus placing orders and then picking them up, he said. “India also has one of the highest grocery store penetrations in the world,” Mathur added.
"We are committed to ensuring a smooth and seamless experience for customers across the country and have continued to significantly invest in our operational capabilities to enable faster deliveries,” a spokesperson for Amazon India said.
Customers can choose two-hour delivery or a convenient two-hour slot between 6:00 a.m. and 12:00 a.m. on Amazon Fresh. On orders of Rs 600 or more, all customers receive free scheduled two-hour delivery. Orders below this threshold can be placed with a delivery fee of Rs 29, and there is no minimum order value to shop from Amazon Fresh sellers, according to the spokesperson.
Amazon merged its two grocery products, Pantry (large size grocery purchase) and Fresh, in February in cities where it previously offered both separately. Pantry is still available in the rest of India where Fresh is not yet available.
Amazon previously serviced some of its Pantry orders through Future Group's BigBazaar outlets after the two companies formed a partnership. This was done through the delivery fleet, with no involvement from the consumers.
The US-based ecommerce company is doing in India what it has done with Whole Foods in the US, where customers can order on Amazon Fresh online and pick it up at the nearest Whole Foods store in select cities.
Amazon paid more than $13 billion for Whole Foods in 2017.
Amazon Fresh online grocery orders in Bengaluru can now be picked up within two to three hours from the nearest More store. The service is now available in many city pin codes. Unlike most ecommerce deliveries, cash-on-delivery is not currently available for these orders.
Amazon purchased the More retail chain from the Aditya Birla Group in 2019 in collaboration with private equity firm Samara Capital.
According to industry executives and analysts, Amazon's free store pick-up for online grocery orders adds another model to the hyperlocal play for e-grocery orders and delivery.
“Some companies are exploring various models, and this seems to be another hyperlocal model being tried out. This is also tailor-made for someone like Reliance Industries,” said Arpit Mathur, partner at management consultancy Kearney. “We will have to wait and see how this plays out in India compared to the US which is a different market.”
It remains to be seen how Indian consumers value the convenience of home delivery versus placing orders and then picking them up, he said. “India also has one of the highest grocery store penetrations in the world,” Mathur added.
"We are committed to ensuring a smooth and seamless experience for customers across the country and have continued to significantly invest in our operational capabilities to enable faster deliveries,” a spokesperson for Amazon India said.
Customers can choose two-hour delivery or a convenient two-hour slot between 6:00 a.m. and 12:00 a.m. on Amazon Fresh. On orders of Rs 600 or more, all customers receive free scheduled two-hour delivery. Orders below this threshold can be placed with a delivery fee of Rs 29, and there is no minimum order value to shop from Amazon Fresh sellers, according to the spokesperson.
Amazon merged its two grocery products, Pantry (large size grocery purchase) and Fresh, in February in cities where it previously offered both separately. Pantry is still available in the rest of India where Fresh is not yet available.
Amazon previously serviced some of its Pantry orders through Future Group's BigBazaar outlets after the two companies formed a partnership. This was done through the delivery fleet, with no involvement from the consumers.
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