Amazon now has customers in 100% serviceable pin-codes in India: Jeff Bezos

If things fall in place, then a deal with a major offline retailer might happen by the end of this year, according to a source

Amazon might be the most visited shopping site in India, but for Jeff Bezos, the founder and CEO of the technology giant, it is still Day 1 in what may be the second-most important market for the firm outside the US.

Bezos, in a letter to customers, said that Amazon now has customers in 100 per cent serviceable pin-codes in the country and is shipping packages from more than 50 fulfillment locations in 13 states.

From talking about how Alexa plays devotional songs in local Indian languages to Amazon India working closely with communities in rural areas, Bezos said that the online marketplace has now become part of the country's culture and has adapted all its services and offerings accordingly.

Stressing that Amazon India has captured the top spot for the last two years, Bezos pointed out that Amazon is the most visited site in the country.

Amazon, which has completed five years in India, has managed to reach the top spot while taking on local favourites Snapdeal and Flipkart. Bezos, in a letter to customers, said that Amazon now has customers in 100 per cent serviceable pin-codes in the country and is shipping packages from more than 50 fulfillment locations in 13 states.

“We’re five years into our journey, but as we say at Amazon, its Day 1, and I am energised and humbled by the opportunities ahead. Amazon is India ki apni dukaan,” he said in the letter.

Bezos also said that the company is working with ‘tens of thousands’ of third-party developers to increase the capabilities of its voice assistant 'Alexa'.

In the past five years, Amazon has grown from just one seller to 300,000. During the last one year itself, Amazon expanded its network of third-party affiliates and service providers to ensure that sellers from non-metros and smaller towns get easy access and the required support to start and manage their online businesses, he added.

According to industry analysts, Amazon has pumped more than $3 billion into its Indian operations.

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Amazon's next big plan for India: To deliver 'all you need' in 2 hours

In India, Amazon currently offers some groceries via a service named Pantry. It has also tied up with local vendors in four cities for Amazon Now, which promises two-hour deliveries

Online Shopping for Electronics, Apparel, Computers, Books, DVDs & more Inc expects groceries and household products to account for over half of its business in India in the next five years, as it moves to broaden offerings in the segment and foray into areas such as fresh produce.

Amit Agarwal, the India head of Amazon, said in an interview on Friday that groceries and goods such as creams, soaps and cleaning products, were already the largest product category on Amazon in terms of number of units sold in India.

"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," he said.

AmazonFresh, which launched more than a decade ago in the US market, is the company's flagship fresh grocery delivery service. In India, Amazon currently offers some groceries via a service named Pantry. It has also tied up with local vendors in four cities for Amazon Now, which promises two-hour deliveries.

"Probably in the next five years groceries and consumables would be more than half of our business," he told Reuters.

Agarwal said Amazon had already started experimenting with a few fresh groceries in India, already home to its largest active customer base outside of the United States.

India's e-commerce market is tipped to grow to $200 billion in a decade, according to Morgan Stanley, as cheap mobile data makes online shopping increasingly accessible.

And Amazon, which already has over 100 million registered users in India, is looking to cash-in on the opportunity.

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