Amazon pilots quick commerce service in select pincodes of Bengaluru

Ecommerce giant Amazon has initiated pilots for Amazon Now in Bengaluru as competition in the quick commerce race heats up.

The quick commerce service, earlier reported to have been named Tez, comes on the heel of the growing popularity of quick commerce platforms, especially among urban consumers.

"Amazon has always focused on offering customers a wide selection with convenient and fast delivery. We are always innovating to offer even more value to customers, and this limited pilot in select pin codes of Bengaluru is a trial to offer even faster speeds on a selection of everyday essentials from our sellers that customers often need quickly,” stated an Amazon spokesperson.

While Amazon offers grocery and produce through Amazon Fresh, with a two-hour delivery promise, Amazon Now offers a 10-minute delivery promise, marking the global giant's first foray into quick commerce.

According to previous media reports, Amazon has also engaged other logistics players to enable quick deliveries.

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Prior to Amazon, domestic ecommerce player Flipkart had launched Flipkart Minutes in August last year to protect its turf as existing quick commerce platforms expanded to categories beyond grocery. Tata Digital, which operates Tata conglomerate's ecommerce super app, Neu, has also rolled out the quick commerce service Neu Flash, powered by Big Basket.

Aadit Palicha-led Zepto cumulatively raised about $1.35 billion last year across multiple rounds ahead of this anticipated public debut later this year.

Quick commerce leader Blinkit slipped into the red in the quarter ended December 2024 after a previous profitable stint as dark store expansion dragged its margins. Meanwhile, Swiggy's Instamart saw its margins deplete in the third quarter of FY25 as customer acquisition, penetration, and expansion inflated costs.