Festive cheer fuels 40% growth for Amazon Fresh, tier-2 cities lead the surge
Amazon Fresh recorded over 40% YoY growth during the festive season, driven by rising demand for premium, healthy, and convenient groceries across metros and tier-2 cities.
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Amazon Fresh, the e-commerce giant’s online grocery arm, has recorded over 40% year-on-year growth in sales during the ongoing festive season, reflecting rising consumer trust in online grocery shopping and a growing appetite for premium, healthy, and convenient food options across India.
Srikant Sree Ram, Director - Amazon Fresh India in an interview with Storyboard18 revealed that the platform saw robust traction not just from metro cities but also from tier 2 and tier 3 markets, where customers are increasingly embracing online grocery platforms for their monthly and weekly essentials.
The expansion of Amazon Fresh’s delivery network to over 270 cities has been a key growth driver this festive season. “We are seeing strong adoption across newer markets, where customers are shopping for everything from staples and snacks to fresh fruits and vegetables,” Srikant Sree Ram added.
Amazon Fresh operates as a one-stop shop for groceries, offering delivery slots ranging from two-hour express deliveries to same-day fulfillment, ensuring both convenience and freshness — two factors critical for customer retention in the competitive online grocery space. According to Sree Ram, the company’s expansion strategy is guided by data-driven signals that identify cities and pin codes showing increasing demand for online groceries.
Festive Surge and Changing Consumption Trends
This year’s festive season has marked a clear shift in consumer behavior, with more customers upgrading to premium and branded products, reflecting a trend of “premiumization” in everyday grocery categories. Sree Ram claimed that Amazon Fresh reported strong demand for products such as organic staples, cold-pressed oils, gourmet snacks and beverages, as well as ready-to-eat meals catering to working professionals and nuclear families.
Another growing trend is the emphasis on healthier choices. "Categories like low-sugar snacks, millet-based products, protein-rich foods, and fortified staples have seen higher growth, driven by both lifestyle changes and the government’s wider push toward millet and clean-label consumption," he shared.
Further, he said that Amazon Fresh attributes its customer loyalty to what it calls its four pillars of success — quality, savings, assortment, and flexibility. “Customers today are seeking both value and variety — from fresh produce and daily staples to indulgent festive items. Our focus has been on making sure these are available under one roof, delivered quickly and reliably,” he added.
Interestingly, Amazon Fresh has observed a significant spike in weekend orders. "This suggests that more Indian households are moving towards planned grocery shopping. Instead of frequent small purchases, families are now placing larger, consolidated orders, often aligning with pay cycles and festive seasons," he said.
In addition to this, festive shopping saw demand across categories, with gift sets growing by 12X and groceries by 1.4X compared to last year. Reflecting a growing shift toward health and wellness, nuts surged 21X, multivitamins 5X and sports nutrition 4X. The beauty category registered a 1.7X growth overall.
Popular FMCG brands like Fortune, Tata Sampann, Amul and Britannia continued to dominate sales charts, while emerging names such as Heritage, Conscious Food, and Akshayakalpa Organic achieved the highest year-on-year growth. Amazon Fresh has entered several new markets. In the North, new cities include Gorakhpur, Muzaffarnagar, Jalandhar, Raikot, and Zirakpur; in the South, Adilabad, Chittoor, Nellore, Hassan, Raichur, Kodagu, Warangal, Vizianagaram, Vellore, Tirupati, Kottayam, Kushalnagar, Hubli, and Kollam; and in the East, Jamshedpur, Asansol and Durgapur.
