Amazon scales India born Amazon Now to 250 cities across nine countries

MUMBAI: Amazon’s 30-minute promise is picking up serious speed and India is where the stopwatch first started. What began as a quick-commerce experiment in Bengaluru has now become a global play, with Amazon Now expanding to more than 250 cities and towns across nine countries, signalling the e-commerce giant’s growing ambitions in the ultra-fast delivery race.

Announcing the expansion during Amazon’s Q2 FY2026 earnings call, Chief Executive Officer Andy Jassy said the company widened Amazon Now’s footprint by adding 80 new cities and towns in the US and several major cities in Egypt during the quarter.

“Amazon Now is available in nine countries and over 250 cities and towns globally,” Jassy said, adding that the service, which delivers thousands of everyday essentials in 30 minutes or less, continues to gain traction among customers.

The rollout builds on Amazon Now’s debut in Bengaluru in 2025, where the company entered India’s fiercely contested quick-commerce market alongside rivals Blinkit, Zepto and Swiggy Instamart. Since then, the service has expanded internationally, including into the UAE, with India serving as the blueprint for its global strategy.

The momentum has been strong. According to Jassy, gross sales and units sold grew by more than 80 per cent quarter on quarter, while the number of customers using Amazon Now increased by over 60 per cent during the same period.

Amazon had first highlighted the service’s rapid adoption during its Q1 FY2026 results, when Jassy revealed that orders in India were increasing 25 per cent month on month, with Prime members tripling their shopping frequency after adopting the service. At the time, Amazon Now had already become available to tens of millions of customers across nine countries.

Beyond quick commerce, Amazon said it continues to accelerate delivery speeds across its wider retail network. Jassy noted that Prime customers can now access millions of products through same-day delivery, up to 40 times the selection typically available at a large-format retail store.

The company also disclosed that, globally, it delivered more than 40 per cent more items through same-day or overnight delivery during the first six months of 2026 compared with the same period last year. Faster fulfilment, it said, is also driving stronger demand for groceries and everyday essentials, which are now growing faster than the broader retail business.

The rapid expansion came alongside another strong financial quarter. Amazon reported Q2 revenue of $200.6 billion, up 20 per cent year on year, while operating income climbed 43 per cent to $27.5 billion. AWS revenue rose 37 per cent year on year to an annualised run rate of $169 billion, while the company’s advertising business grew 26 per cent.

For Amazon, the message is becoming increasingly clear, quick commerce is no longer an India-only experiment but a global growth engine and one that is moving at full speed.