Amazon Enters the 10-Minute Delivery Race, Takes on Blinkit and Zepto with ‘Amazon Now’

With ultra-fast delivery in Delhi and Bengaluru, Amazon intensifies competition in India’s booming quick-commerce sector

Amazon has officially stepped into India’s hyper-competitive quick-commerce market with the expansion of its 10-minute delivery service, ‘Amazon Now,’ to select pin codes in Delhi, following a successful pilot in Bengaluru in December 2024. This strategic move positions Amazon against major players such as Zepto, Blinkit, and Swiggy Instamart, at a time when ultra-fast delivery is reshaping consumer habits in India like never before.

Key points 

• Amazon launches 10-minute delivery service in New Delhi
• Competes with Blinkit, Swiggy Instamart, Zepto in quick commerce

Unlike its traditional e-commerce model, ‘Amazon Now’ offers a curated selection of everyday essentials, delivered within 10 minutes, directly challenging the local kirana-store convenience model that platforms like Blinkit and Zepto have emulated digitally.

Quick-Commerce’s Rapid Growth in India

India has emerged as a rare global market where ultra-fast delivery is not just thriving but evolving. A report by ICICI Securities earlier this year highlighted how quick-commerce (QCom) is no longer driven by impulse purchases alone. Instead, it’s fostering habitual, high-frequency usage through targeted category expansion, convenience, and instant gratification.

Smartphone penetration, cheap data, and a tech-savvy, young population have been key enablers of this growth. According to a joint report by Flipkart and Bain & Company, two-thirds of all e-grocery orders and 10% of total e-retail spends in 2024 occurred through QCom platforms.

Market Value Doubles in One Year

Reflecting this behavioral shift, Indians are estimated to have placed orders worth ₹64,000 crore on quick-commerce platforms such as Blinkit and Swiggy Instamart in FY 2024–25, more than double the ₹30,000 crore recorded the previous year. Analysts expect this figure to climb to ₹2 lakh crore by FY28, as per projections from CareEdge Ratings.

Why ‘Amazon Now’ Matters

By launching ‘Amazon Now,’ Amazon is tapping into this surging demand with the might of its logistics network and a vast product assortment. The curated nature of offerings aims to blend speed with reliability, key to sustaining repeat usage and customer loyalty in a price-sensitive market like India.

Regulatory Tightening

The sector’s meteoric rise hasn’t gone unnoticed by regulators. In late 2024, India’s consumer protection authority issued notices to several QCom companies for non-compliance with product disclosure norms. These included missing or incomplete information like MRP, expiry date, manufacturer details, and consumer grievance redressal information, which are mandatory for both online and offline sales of packaged goods.

With increasing scrutiny and rising consumer expectations, quick-commerce players will need to ensure not only speed and variety but also compliance and transparency, a space where Amazon’s global operational standards could give it a competitive edge.

As the quick-commerce war escalates, consumers stand to benefit most, with faster deliveries, broader assortments, and improved service standards now becoming the new baseline for e-retail in India.