Amazon launches the ‘Local Shops on Amazon’ program

·         More than 5000 local shops and retailers from across India have already enrolled for this program; hundreds of them are selling products essential to customers during these challenging times

·         Once the situation returns to normalcy, customers will be able to shop from these Local Shops from the comfort of their homes and benefit from a wider selection, faster deliveries, as well as in-built value-added services

·         Amazon will be investing INR 10 Crores to expand this program

India, 24 April 2020: Amazon.in today announced the launch of ‘Local Shops on Amazon’ The program brings the benefits of ecommerce to local shopkeepers and retailers of all sizes. It helps supplement the existing footfalls with a digital presence and expands their reach beyond their normal catchment. As part of the program, Amazon will use its technology, training and enablement capabilities to power local shops and retailers of all sizes from across India to sell online. Shopkeepers joining “Local Shops on Amazon” use their existing delivery setups to deliver faster within the city and can choose to expand their serviceable areas by using Amazon’s fulfilment services. Additionally, these shops can sign up for Amazon’s other programs that include I Have Space to act as delivery and pickup points, and ‘Amazon Easy’ to offer expanded selection to their walk-in customers to earn additional income. Over 5000 local shops and retailers from across India have already enrolled for this program and hundreds of them are selling products that are essential to customers during these challenging times.

Bringing the best of online and offline shopping experience together, the program is designed to help customers shop from their favourite local shops near them from the comfort of their homes; benefit from a wider selection, faster deliveries as well as in-built value-added services like demo and installation, contact transfer from old phone to new amongst others. However, due to the current prevailing situation, customer can only shop for essential items from the local shops and retailers under this program.

For the last 6 months, Amazon has been running a pilot for this program with over 5000+ local shops and offline retailers. These retailers are from top metros as well as tier 1 and tier 2 cities like Bangalore, Mumbai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Pune, Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Coimbatore, Surat, Indore Lucknow, Saharanpur, Faridabad, Kota, Varanasi amongst others. Shops from the pilot are from different product categories like Kitchen, Home, Furniture, Apparel, Automotive, Beauty, Electronics, Sports, Grocery, Lawn & Garden, Books, Toys, Jewellery, Large Appliances etc.

Some local shops and retailers who are already a part of the program include Delhi Electronics Plaza (Consumer Electronics, Delhi), mysleepyhead (Mattresses, Krishnagiri), Green Soul (Furniture, Mumbai), Sangeetha Mobiles (Mobile Phones, Bengaluru), Arya Organic Products (Grocery Consumables, Bengaluru), Comfort Bedding (Bedding & Mattresses, Delhi), Shoe Mistri (Shoes Care, Delhi) , Electro Kart (Delhi NCR), Madhuram Electronics (Ahmedabad) The Mattress Hub (Delhi NCR, Electronics Shoppe (Delhi NCR), Adith Electronics, Raw Pressery (Beverages, Mumbai), Weguarantee (Grocery and Healthcare, Lucknow) amongst others.

Gopal Pillai, VP, Seller Services – Amazon India said, “Local Shops on Amazon is in line with our focus on enabling every motivated seller anywhere in the country to reach customers across India and the world. It empowers local shops and retailers of all sizes to benefit from a larger addressable customer base, while leveraging their existing resources and assets. At the same time, customers get the convenience of buying from local shops in their cities with integrated value added services and faster delivery of products.” Gopal further added, ““Over the last few weeks, we have been faced with an unprecedented challenge. We focused all our efforts to only serve products that are essential to our customers during this time. It was heartening to see hundreds of retailers from the Local Shops program play an important role to help people across India practice social distancing while addressing their needs for essential products.  As the situation improves, they can continue to help people maintain social distancing while jumpstarting their livelihoods and open up a long-term opportunity for themselves”

This program can help local shops and retailers to embrace technology and transform themselves into digital and hybrid stores. Amazon India is pledging INR 10 crores to expand the pilot to on-board and train any motivated retailer or shopkeeper from across India.

More Details about ‘Local Shops on Amazon’ program

Shopkeepers and retailers of any size, from any part of India, across categories can join and benefit from “Local Shops on Amazon” program. They can use their existing delivery mechanisms to deliver to customers faster. The program allows the shopkeepers to choose the areas where they can deliver same or next day (with pin-code level granularity) and also build on the trust with customers in their city by providing additional value-added services like product demonstration, installation support, easy customizations, and device data transfer among others. Amazon has designed a special ‘Delivery App’ to help Local Shops to provide accurate delivery updates to customers and Amazon, and all shipments are tracked daily on key metrics to ensure customers get what they are promised. There will also be a new curated “Local Shops/Shops Near You” section on home and product pages on Amazon.in. All additional services provided by the Local Shops will be highlighted on the details page.