Amazon India Accelerates Quick Commerce: Plans Expansion to 100 Cities with 1,000 Dark Stores

Ebrun Exclusive | June 10th: According to foreign media reports, Amazon is accelerating the rollout of its quick commerce business in India, planning to significantly expand the coverage of its rapid delivery service, Amazon Now, from the current 12 cities to 100 cities within the coming months, accompanied by the construction of 1,000 micro-fulfillment centers.

This goal was first confirmed externally by Amazon India head, Sameer Kumar, highlighting the e-commerce giant's determination to catch up in the 10-minute delivery race.

In an interview with Indian media, Kumar stated that the company is currently expanding at a pace of adding 3 to 4 new sites per day and is very pleased with Amazon Now's development.

'We have a very aggressive growth plan,' he said. 'We entered this market to win, and we will become the leader in the not-too-distant future.' To support this expansion, Amazon announced an investment of 28 billion rupees directly into its quick commerce business by 2026.

Over the past 13 years, Amazon has cumulatively invested $40 billion in India and plans to invest an additional $35 billion over the next five years, covering e-commerce, cloud infrastructure, logistics networks, and seller enablement.

Kumar emphasized that while Amazon entered the quick commerce market later than competitors, the company focused first on refining the correct business model before pushing for scale.

'We started a little later, but we were not sitting idle. Once we decided to enter, we moved very quickly.' In his view, India's quick commerce story is just beginning, and the market will continue to develop in the coming years. He refused to treat the number of dark stores as a core metric, calling store count a 'vanity metric,' with the key being the ability to provide excellent coverage and consumer experience in each city.

The effectiveness of Amazon Now's expansion is already becoming apparent.

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy revealed during the Q1 2026 earnings call that order volume for the service is growing at a monthly rate of approximately 25%; Prime members' shopping frequency triples on average after they start using Amazon Now.

Kumar added that about 70% of new Prime members come from tier-2 and tier-3 cities, indicating that lower-tier markets are becoming a new growth driver for e-commerce. In terms of product mix, while groceries and fresh produce remain the primary demand drivers, sales of non-grocery categories such as home goods and kitchenware are growing continuously, pushing up the average order value.

Despite strong growth momentum, a significant gap remains between Amazon and the market leader.

According to data from market research firms and brokerages, Amazon Now currently operates approximately 450 to 500 dark stores, handling around 300,000 to 500,000 daily orders. In comparison, the industry leader Blinkit, with over 2,200 dark stores, handles approximately 3 million daily orders, averaging about 1,400 orders per store per day. Amazon Now's individual sites handle about 700 to 900 orders per day on average.

Another major competitor, Swiggy Instamart, also averages over 1,000 daily orders per store. To match Blinkit's order volume, Amazon would need to scale its operations by about six times.

Facing this gap, Kumar shifts the competitive focus to product assortment rather than pure price competition.

He stated that Amazon's goal is to offer consumers in any part of India the widest selection of products in the quick delivery space, believing the company's deep experience in managing vast product catalogs and inventory systems will be a key advantage.

Regarding recent public discussions by competitors about price wars, Kumar disagrees with the term 'price war.' 'For us, the focus is on providing the best value, the widest selection, and the fastest delivery. We are here for the long term. We are not the kind of player who comes in for a few months and then exits the market.'

Previously, the founder of Blinkit's parent company stated willingness to invest more funds if a price war erupted, while Swiggy explicitly stated it would not engage in price competition.

In fact, Amazon's bet on quick commerce extends beyond India. Kumar revealed that the company has formed a dedicated Amazon Now team of about 100 people, operating with a 'startup mindset' and focusing on the technology and operational systems needed for rapid scaling. Several innovative solutions developed by this Indian team have been rolled out to Amazon's quick commerce businesses in global markets such as the US, UK, Japan, and Brazil.

This indicates that India is becoming an important testing ground and solution exporter for Amazon's global quick delivery operations.

Ebrun continues to track developments on this front. To learn more information related to this article, please scan the QR code to follow the author's WeChat.