[TorqueyTechie]

Amazon India has launched its food delivery service in India. Called Amazon Food, service is initially started only in Bangalore and is restricted to 4 IT dominated areas only.

Quoting few parts of the article from Techcrunch :

Amazon Food, which is available through Amazon’s marquee app, is currently available in Bellandur, Haralur, Marathalli, and Whitefield suburbs of Bangalore.
“Customers have been telling us for some time that they would like to order prepared meals on Amazon in addition to shopping for all other essentials. This is particularly relevant in present times as they stay home safe,” an Amazon spokesperson told TechCrunch.

“We also recognize that local businesses need all the help they can get. We are launching Amazon Food in select Bangalore pin codes allowing customers to order from handpicked local restaurants and cloud kitchens that pass our high hygiene certification bar. We are adhering to the highest standards of safety to ensure our customers remain safe while having a delightful experience,” the spokesperson added. The company did not say how soon it plans to expand Food across India.

Entry into the food delivery space has come at a very interesting time when the other established players like Swiggy and Zomato are letting go of few employees citing losses. IMO it may pan out to be beneficial for Amazon in utilizing their vast network of delivery personnel for this while also expanding their business into other domains. If it doesn't work out they may cut their losses and move away.

P.S: Mods, though I did see this (Zomato, Swiggy & others: Do they pay GST?) thread, the context of it was not relevant and hence created a new one. Please merge it to any suitable thread if I have missed.

[akshaymahajan]

I foresee a lot of consolidation shortly.

Zomato and Swiggy could have taken on Uber Eats but with Amazon, it will be harder. I also have a feeling that Jio will not sit court side and watch.

OT: Add to it the current scenario in the F&B industry, I want to also hope for premium cloud kitchens. Will private chefs catering to in-home dining also become a thing? Or will the COVID situation get sorted and life be back to normal?

[v1p3r]

So who will bow first and be acquired, Swiggy or Zomato?

[GTO]

Originally Posted by v1p3r

So who will bow first and be acquired, Swiggy or Zomato?

In my opinion, both are too big to be acquired by Amazon. If Amazon is serious, it will be cheaper to build its own business instead.

Right now, the food delivery scene is a 2-horse race full of losses & discounts. Even Uber India bowed out (although they continue in other countries).

Bangalore BHPians, please share reviews. Would be nice to know just how different Amazon is, and why one would choose it over Zomato or Swiggy.

[Red Liner]

Originally Posted by akshaymahajan

I foresee a lot of consolidation shortly.

Zomato and Swiggy could have taken on Uber Eats

Zomato acquired uber eats a while back. Quite frustrating that Uber couldn't make the business succeed here.

Am pretty sure both Amazon and Jio are going to step in and make life hell for Swiggy and Zomato big time.

[v1p3r]

Originally Posted by GTO

In my opinion, both are too big to be acquired by Amazon. If Amazon is serious, it will be cheaper to build its own business instead.

Right now, the food delivery scene is a 2-horse race full of losses & discounts. Even Uber India bowed out (although they continue in other countries).

With Amazon, it could go either way. They are not above buying anything they see as valuable - PillPack and Twitch - and scaling it up using their mega resources, which is their gameplan anyway. On the other hand, weaning people away (even deal hunters) to a third, new entrant is difficult - money can't buy customer habit, as Foodpanda and Uber Eats discovered. IMHO it's more a question of who blinks first - Z or S. They are on an unsustainable trajectory.

Originally Posted by Red Liner

Am pretty sure both Amazon and Jio are going to step in and make life hell for Swiggy and Zomato big time.

Will Jio use the same model? Or will they run a lower service fee and let restaurants deliver using their platform? Most of Mumbai's restaurants already have delivery services.

[Red Liner]

Originally Posted by v1p3r

Will Jio use the same model? Or will they run a lower service fee and let restaurants deliver using their platform? Most of Mumbai's restaurants already have delivery services.

I expect it to be the latter. Use the platform and deliver themselves. Kind of like Amazon platform but seller fulfilled.

[v1p3r]

Originally Posted by Red Liner

I expect it to be the latter. Use the platform and deliver themselves. Kind of like Amazon platform but seller fulfilled.

Yes, that is my reading as well. RIL has traditionally been loathe to enter markets where it has only partial control / liability for the entire supply chain. In case of an aggregator delivery model, this happens because your delivery folk, who are also the largest customer facing bit, are all contract workers.

[TorqueyTechie]

One big advantage which Amazon has over Swiggy/Zomato is the capital. They can withstand losses for sometime than the other two players. For me, I see two challenges for them

(1) Lure people to their platform - Food delivery is synonymous with either Swiggy/Zomato.
(2) Building network of restaurants to cater their business. - Some of the restaurants already cry about low prices on the delivery apps. Now with another entrant in the space should see how they will react.

Should see first hand comparison between apps and see how it fares against existing ones.

[Divya Sharan]

Currently, Amazon Food would serve only 4 pin codes along ORR (IT frenzy areas) - Bangalore 48 (Hoodi and ITPB areas), 37 (Marathahalli and nearby areas), 66 (Whitefield) and 103 (Bellandur).

Business model is similar to that of Swiggy's, at least that's what it looks for now. With mass firings at Zomato and Swiggy, we can expect a few of them joining Amazon, resulting in similar service experience to the end user.

[Miyata]

With the fortunes of Amazon and Bezos' increasing, may as well put that money to good use by expanding the business!

Source

Jeff Bezos’s fortune increased by $25 billion between January 1 and April 15.

I wonder how the Amazon delivery agents are doing in this lockdown period. Hope the fortunes of Amazon are keeping them well.

[akshaymahajan]

Originally Posted by Red Liner

Zomato acquired uber eats a while back. Quite frustrating that Uber couldn't make the business succeed here.

Am pretty sure both Amazon and Jio are going to step in and make life hell for Swiggy and Zomato big time.

Yes, that I know. I meant that Swiggy and Zomato had deep enough pockets to not let Uber Eats become real competition in the first place. Uber had its other issues so Uber Eats india wasnt top on their list I would imagine.

money isnt a problem for Mr Bezos. Plus Amazon likes blood baths from what I have heard.

Originally Posted by TorqueyTechie

One big advantage which Amazon has over Swiggy/Zomato is the capital. They can withstand losses for sometime than the other two players. For me, I see two challenges for them

(1) Lure people to their platform - Food delivery is synonymous with either Swiggy/Zomato.
(2) Building network of restaurants to cater their business. - Some of the restaurants already cry about low prices on the delivery apps. Now with another entrant in the space should see how they will react.

Should see first hand comparison between apps and see how it fares against existing ones.

I would say that they also have a good amount of workforce that they can use across lines they have to ensure efficiency. Then bring on something like a Swiggy Super within the Amazon Prime bundle, and that's a good chunk of customers. And advertise on Prime Video to ensure that people learn about Amazon Food quickly. And provide incentives to restaurants to use Amazon Pantry/Amazon Fresh to buy supplies - maybe by cutting down commission on food deliveries. And obviously all this is hosted and run on AWS.

[hemanth.anand]

I'm happy that i don't live in that part of Bengaluru...but will try this service if at all I visit that part of the city. Just cheked out the app...If I change the delivery location to anyone of the 4 pincodes where this service is available, I see the "Food" section in the normal Amazon shopping app itself. It has a magenta theme to it and I saw some Amazon pay cashback offers. Since I'm checking now, all restaurants are closed. Here are some screenshots from that...

[Thermodynamics]

A suggestion to Amazon if they are reading this. Anyway you have chosen this time to start, why not start by giving free food to migrants in crisis, it would be an excellent promo as well as lot of punya.

[Latheesh]

Serving IT dominated areas in Bangalore and not included PIN code 560 100 - Electronic City, Birth place of IT service Industry in Bangalore? This is unacceptable and I boycott Amazon.

I am not a fan of food delivery services but used Uber Eats and Zomato few times when there was some sales promotions.