As quick commerce, content streaming, and hyper-personalised shopping converge, Amazon is doubling down on its Prime ecosystem in India. In an interview with Geetika Srivastava, Akshay Sahi, head of Amazon Prime, discusses the record performance of this year’s Prime Day and what India’s evolving consumption patterns mean for Amazon’s next phase of growth. Excerpts:
How was your performance at this year’s Prime Day event?
This was the most shopped Prime Day event in India ever, with record sales and more items sold than any previous edition. We recorded our highest-ever peak order rate, with over 18,000 orders placed in a single minute, more than 50% higher than Prime Day 2024.
We saw remarkable traction from customers in tier 2 and tier 3 cities, which accounted for 70% of Prime sign-ups ahead of the event. Delivery speeds continued to be a major differentiator. Same- and next-day deliveries in metros doubled year-over-year, and 2-day deliveries in tier 2/3 cities grew 1.8X year on year.
Amazon saw the highest-ever participation of small and medium businesses compared to all previous editions of Prime Day. Meanwhile, Amazon Business witnessed a spike of 3X in new customer registrations during Prime Day with 7X growth in Prime sign-ups as businesses enrolled to take advantage of early deals. Amazon Business also saw close to 7X spike in Bulk orders during Prime Day.
It wasn’t just shopping — Prime Video launched 17 new Indian and international titles in the lead-up to Prime Day, which were viewed in over 224 countries and territories.
Is AI playing a role in shaping personalised deals, dynamic pricing, or ad targeting for Prime users?
We’ve been using Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) for more than 25 years, and it’s deeply embedded into every business in which we operate. On the customer side, AI powers features like recommendation engines and search optimisation, helping members discover relevant deals efficiently. Internally, AI-generated review summaries and our conversational shopping assistant (Rufus) help customers navigate choices more easily.
We are using Generative AI and ML to help sellers with better listing and customer engagement on Amazon. Our ML tools detect and correct catalogue defects and recommend deals to boost sales. We have introduced the Gen AI Listing Experience, enabling sellers to create high-quality product listings by simply providing a product image, description or brand website URL. This tool saves sellers’ time while ensuring their listings are accurate and informative to meet customer expectations.
Amazon is investing Rs 2,000 crore and opening 30 new delivery stations this year. How do these investments translate into a better user experience?
These investments are part of our long-term commitment to build India’s fastest, safest, and most reliable delivery network, and they play a huge role in elevating the Prime member experience.
Today, Prime members benefit from Same-Day Delivery on over 10 lakh items, Next-Day Delivery on 40 lakh items, and Sub-Same Day delivery within just 4 hours on 20,000+ best-selling products. These speeds were made possible by our expanding fulfilment, sortation, and delivery infrastructure, particularly in non-metro and remote locations.
We’ve also increased the number of PIN codes eligible for Same-Day and Next-Day delivery by over 11% in 2024, making Prime benefits more accessible than ever. And behind this network is a robust ecosystem of 2,000+ delivery stations, 28,000 I Have Space partners, and thousands of Flex delivery partners across the country. For customers in tier 2 and 3 cities, this means faster, more predictable, and more reliable deliveries.
India remains the only country where Amazon offers three distinct Prime tiers. What insights led to this decision?
India is the only Amazon market with a three-tier Prime membership model, and that’s very intentional. We’ve built this structure by working customer-backwards and recognising that different segments value different benefits, be it speed, savings, or entertainment.
This tiered approach lets us serve a wider demographic across income levels and geographic regions, and it’s helped us reach more first-time customers, especially in tier 2 and 3 towns. What’s been especially encouraging is that the response across all three tiers has been strong, and we’re seeing sustained engagement and high renewal rates. It’s a model that reflects the diversity of India and allows us to deliver Prime “Khaas Aapke Liye.”
What are Amazon’s ambitions with Amazon Now and 4-hour delivery? Is quick commerce becoming a bigger focus for your long-term India strategy?
We’re very excited about the possibilities here. Amazon Now, our 10-minute delivery pilot, is currently live in select pin codes in Bangalore and Delhi, and the initial response from Prime members has been very positive. Customers are using the service to fulfil urgent needs from groceries and personal care to household essentials, and they appreciate the combination of speed and reliability that Amazon brings.
Beyond Amazon Now, our core Prime offering includes Sub-Same Day delivery within 4 hours on over 20,000 top-selling items, which is already live and scaling. We’re also seeing strong growth in Amazon Fresh, which delivers daily essentials in 2-hour slots to over 170+ cities.
To us, quick commerce isn’t about one model, it’s about giving customers flexibility. Some prioritise speed, others value a wider selection. So, we’re building a network that delivers both.