Amazon Now up and running in Bangalore

Amazon.in has officially announced that its Amazon Now grocery delivery service – which builds on the Kirana Now pilot – has been launched in Bangalore. Post&Parcel first reported that Amazon was set to launch the grocery and “everyday essentials” delivery service in Bangalore (aka Bengaluru) on 19 January.

On 3 February, Amazon.in posted an official statement announcing the launch of the Amazon Now app.

Sources have reported that Amazon plans to expand the service to other major cities across India. It appears that this is still the plan – although this is not mentioned explicitly in Amazon’s official statement.

Stores currently participating in the Amazon Now programme include BigBazaar, Reliance Fresh, Bharat Petroleum In & Out, Godrej Nature’s Basket and Food World.

Commenting on the launch, Samir Kumar, Vice President Category Management, Amazon India, said: “We are encouraged by the learnings from Kirana Now – a pilot that we started last year in Bangalore to enable customers to shop for their everyday essentials from the ecosystem of their local stores and get them delivered within two-four hours.

“We are excited to expand that service to include more selection, more pin codes and invite other branded retailers, with the launch of a dedicated Android app Amazon Now.

“Customers can now choose more than 6,000 products from the ecosystem of kiranas and other favourite local stores.”

Amazon Now is offering two new delivery services: Express (two hours) or Scheduled. Delivery is free for baskets above Rs 250. For baskets lower than Rs 250, there is  a delivery charge of Rs 29 for Scheduled Delivery and Rs 49 for Express Delivery.

Meanwhile, Amazon has recently agreed a deal to buy the Indian online payments firm, Emvantage, and also set up a Seller Lending Program in partnership with Mumbai-based Capital First that will enable small and medium businesses selling on Amazon.in to get easier access to working capital.