Amazon’s ‘Local Shops’ program sees a huge spurt

Over 50,000 offline retailers and neighborhood kirana stores across 450 India have launched e-commerce major Amazon’s ‘Local Shops’ program. Launched in April, the program aims to enable local shopkeepers and kirana store owners to sell online. It is been participated by over 20,000 retailers in 400 cities. Retailers and neighborhood stores from metros to Tier II and III cities like Sangli, Osmanabad, Jamnagar, Gorakhpur, Jabalpur, Ratlam, Bikaner, Tumkur, Jalpaiguri, Kanchipuram and Dehradun have joined the Amazon program.

They are offering customers in their cities a wide range of products including fresh flowers, home and kitchen products, furniture, electronics, books and toys amongst others. The program underlines how digital enablement and digital inclusion can help them scale and contribute to a digital economy. It helps neighborhood stores supplement the existing footfalls at their stores with a digital presence, and expands their reach beyond the normal catchment.

Maharashtra, Delhi, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan topped the list of the highest number of 'Local Shops' among states, while Delhi, Surat, Jaipur, Bengaluru and Mumbai had the highest number of Local Shops in terms of cities.

The most popular product categories on Local Shops were grocery, kitchen products, appliances, beauty products, consumer electronics, home items, furniture, business and industrial supplies, apparel, and wireless accessories.