Amazon Now Testing In-Store Pickup in India

18.03.2014 Nate Hoffelder 1 Comment

For over 2 years now Amazon has been using delivery boxes in the US and UK to give customers more delivery options, but they are taking a different approach in other markets.

The retail giant launched a new program earlier this week which gave their customers in India a new delivery option. Residents of Mumbai and Delhi can now elect to pick up their purchases at a participating retail store. It’s called Amazon Pickup, and given the fact that the similar US and UK program is called Amazon Locker this could be a telling detail.

Amazon has partnered with BPCL, an Indian oil and gas company, to launch Amazon Pickup as a pilot project in Delhi and Mumbai. Under this program Amazon customers can have their packages delivered to one of 8 In & Out convenience stores.

"We are continually innovating to find solutions that enhance the convenience and experience for our customers on Amazon.in. Towards that we are running a pilot in Delhi and Mumbai with BPCL to ascertain the benefits and mechanics of enabling a pick-up service. It is too early to comment any further. Depending on results, we will take a call on how and what we want to roll out and we will make further announcement on this at an appropriate time," Amazon India said in a statement.

In a way this new program is very similar to the Amazon Locker program offered in the US and UK, though it’s not clear whether the Indian program included lockers or the deliveries were held by store staff. While Amazon has partnered with 7-Eleven (and other retailers) to add lockers to convenience stores in the US,  store employees were not involved in running the lockers.

The Amazon Locker program is available in metro areas across the US and in several cities in the UK.

Trak.in, BGR India