TL;DR
Head of Amazon India, Amit Agarwal, expressed the company’s belief that Amazon will grow its grocery and daily needs business in India exponential over the next 5 years. A keen eye will be key for Amazon to gain a foothold in the Indian grocery business currently dominated by Big Basket.
Amazon India head, Amit Agarwal, said in an interview with Reuters, that consumer goods such as detergents, soaps, and lotions are already the largest category on Amazon.in in terms of the number of units sold in India. Going by this, Amazon expressed its belief that the grocery and household products market will account for over half the business in India over the next 5 years.
Amazon already has two services that cater to grocery needs in India, Amazon Pantry – which offers discounts on monthly grocery shopping through the site and Amazon Now – which delivers mainly perishables but other products as well, within two hours. Amazon Now promises a 2-hour delivery possible due to its tie-ups with local vendors.
Amit Agarwal, however, specifically spoke of the launch of AmazonFresh saying “I would not speculate on when we would launch AmazonFresh but, absolutely, if you ask me the next five years of vision – from your avocados to your potatoes, and your meat to your ice cream – we’ll deliver everything to you in two hours”
Amazon’s largest market in terms of customer base outside the United States is in India. And with this foray into the grocery business, it hopes to penetrate the market in a bigger way tightening its hold on the market.
The grocery market in India is currently dominated by Big Basket and Grofers, with Big Basket at the top with 73% market share. Big Basket’s huge market share and market reputation is something that Amazon needs to keep a close eye on over the next 5 years to solidify its foothold as India’s largest online store.
