Amazon throws down the gauntlet at Swiggy, Zomato

It’s hard to say yet if Amazon may have waited too long to start its food delivery business in India. After holding back last year for obvious reasons, the ecommerce giant launched the business earlier this month in Bengaluru, at least in some parts of the city.

The launch comes as India’s food delivery sector is staging a fast recovery from last year’s lows, with Swiggy and Zomato galloping back to pre-Covid levels. 

To catch up, and it will be a long chase, Amazon’s brought out deep discounts and low commissions as its primary weapons, a throwback to a not-too-distant past that saw some well-financed companies bleed out of contention.

Amazon also has its trump card—its Prime service that covers video, audio, and fast deliveries for hundreds of thousands of subscribers in India—that it is linking to its food delivery service as well.