Amazon adds 10,000 stores to network ahead of festive season

Mumbai: Ahead of the upcoming festive season, e-commerce giant Amazon.In today announced expansion of its delivery network with addition of over 10,000 stores under its 'I Have Space' programme, taking the total to 12,500.

The expansion will enable Amazon.In to efficiently manage deliveries across 22 states and union territories this festive season, it said in a statement here.

Under the 'I Have Space' programme, Amazon India partners with local store owners across different cities to deliver products to customers within a 2?4 km radius of their store. Some of these stores also double up as pick-up points and receive deliveries on behalf of customers, the statement said.

"We believe that customers, no matter where they reside or are located, value fast and reliable delivery. As we gear up for the upcoming festive season, we have expanded our delivery network by 5 times and now have over 12,500 I Have Space stores in more than 50 cities with a majority being in tier II and III towns," said Akhil Saxena, Vice-President, India Customer Fulfilment, Amazon India.

Amazon.In has allowed the store owners to supplement their regular income and generate more footfalls in their stores through this initiative.

On an average, Amazon India's store partners deliver 20-30 packages a day, earning a fixed amount per delivery, the statement said.

The Amazon India I Have Space programme is open to all store owners who have the ability to service on foot or a two-wheeler.

The only requirement for the store owner to be a partner is to have sufficient manpower to make local deliveries during their off-peak hours and space for storage of packages, Amazon said.

Currently, this initiative primarily deals in grocery, telecom, stationery, chemists, general stores and other modern trade outlets, to name a few.

The programme covers over 50 cities, including Amritsar, Jodhpur, Ajmer, Kota, Vadodara, Bharuch, Nasik, Kolhapur, Belgaum, Tirupur, Warrangal, Vellore, Salem, Guntur, Raipur, Agra and Dehradun, in addition to all large metros.

The channel handles a significant proportion of Amazon Logistics volumes in cities where it is present and is instrumental in fulfiling customer promises while transforming lives across the country.