Amazon finally enters quick commerce race with 'Amazon Now' in select areas of Bengaluru

Amazon India has formally entered much competitive quick commerce race, launching its pilot 10-minute delivery service, Amazon Now, across three Bengaluru pin codes. 

The beta rollout, which is available to a select group of users, marks the e-commerce giant’s most significant foray yet into India's rapid delivery ecosystem, which has been long dominated by Eternal's Blinkit, Zepto, and Swiggy Instamart.

According to media reports, the service operates through 10 to 15 dark stores strategically located across the city. The company plans to expand to additional neighbourhoods in the coming weeks, signalling a deeper push into the ultra-fast delivery segment.

“We are running our 10-minute delivery service Amazon Now in select pin codes in Bangalore and are super excited with the initial customer response and positive feedback, especially from Prime members,” an Amazon spokesperson said.

The move follows multiple internal pilots and comes amid renewed competition in India’s quick commerce market. Amazon Now promises deliveries of items such as groceries, vegetables, snacks, beverages, personal care products, and even fresh meat, within 10 to 15 minutes. The service currently offers discounts and has waived surge fees and late-night charges to attract early users.

“Through Amazon Now, we're offering a curated selection of everyday essentials delivered within 10 minutes, addressing immediate customer needs while maintaining Amazon's standards for quality and reliability. We will expand the service over the next few months,” the spokesperson added.

Amazon has been notably cautious in entering the quick commerce space due to concerns related to profitability and logistics. But with rivals aggressively scaling up operations—Flipkart, for example, is targeting 800 dark stores across India by year-end—the American e-commerce giant appears to be recalibrating its strategy.

Plans for the service first surfaced in mid-2024, when Amazon began developing its dark store infrastructure under the internal project name “Tez.” The company appointed Nishant Sardana to lead the category and later confirmed the initiative during its annual Smbhav event in December. By late 2024, it had initiated groundwork for launching in urban hubs, with a target of 300 dark stores in Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, and Bengaluru by the end of 2025.

Amit Agarwal, Amazon India’s senior vice president, had at the time acknowledged quick commerce’s disruptive pull but downplayed its impact on Amazon’s core e-commerce model. “There is a physics to how much you can deploy closer to customers… we’re talking about the consumption of a few thousand products,” he said.

The Indian quick commerce market has seen explosive growth in recent years, reshaping consumer expectations and drawing in significant investment. Companies like Blinkit and Zepto have created dense fulfillment networks to offer deliveries under 10-15 minutes, often using dark stores placed in high-demand neighborhoods.