Amazon was one of the first companies to enter the e-commerce segment years ago. Now, with the quick commerce segment gaining ground, Amazon is in an attempt to step up its push on faster deliveries with its quick commerce model, which was first tested in India, now being rolled out globally, a note by international brokerage house Jefferies stated.
The brokerage, citing CEO Andy Jassy’s shareholder letter and investor interactions, said delivery speed is emerging as a key priority alongside artificial intelligence, even as the company continues to invest heavily across both areas.
India-led ‘Amazon Now’ gains traction
Amazon’s ultra-fast delivery service, Amazon Now, is already seeing strong traction in India, where it promises deliveries within 20 minutes. The service operates through more than 360 micro-fulfilment centres and is witnessing over 25% month-on-month growth in orders, the note said.
Jefferies further mentioned that customers are also engaging more frequently. Prime users are said to triple their shopping frequency once they start using the service. Having established early momentum in India and the UAE, Amazon is now expanding the model to the US and Europe, as per the brokerage report.
Building for faster deliveries
As per the brokerage firm, Amazon is investing across multiple fulfilment models to bring down delivery timelines. Instead of relying on a single approach, the company is building parallel systems aimed at improving speed and efficiency.
In the US, it has more than 85 same-day delivery centres that stock around 90,000 products. At the same time, over one million robots are deployed across fulfilment centres to improve processing speed and reduce costs.
The company is also working on longer-term initiatives such as Prime Air, which aims to enable deliveries within 30 minutes and reach communities with up to 30 million users by year-end.
AI investments remain a priority
Alongside logistics, Amazon continues to double down on artificial intelligence, the report noted. Jassy has described AI as a “once-in-a-lifetime” shift, which means that the company will continue investing even if it impacts near-term free cash flow.
Jefferies further noted that AI is being applied across businesses, including AWS, retail operations, logistics and customer-facing platforms.
Quick commerce: Competition likely to intensify
Jefferies notes that Amazon’s increasing focus on ultra-fast delivery is expected to heighten competitive pressures in the quick commerce space. At the same time, Jefferies noted that the broader market is shifting towards shorter delivery timelines, which could expand the opportunity beyond groceries into other retail categories.
The brokerage maintained its ‘Buy’ ratings on Eternal and Swiggy, while highlighting that the latter remains a higher risk-reward play given ongoing losses and evolving strategy.