Flipkart to Start Rolling Out Same-Day Delivery Service in 20 Cities in India

Flipkart announced that it will soon make same-day deliveries to select regions in India. A wide range of products will be eligible for this shipping option, the company confirmed. Although the firm has not set a specific date within which the service will be available to users in the country, it has provided a general timeline for the same. It is first scheduled to roll out to users in a few cities. Eventually, this shipping option will be rolled out to all users in the country.

The company announced on Wednesday that same-day delivery will soon be available for Flipkart users in India. The service will start rolling out in February and will first be available in 20 cities. Customers in Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Bhubaneshwar, Coimbatore, Chennai, Delhi, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Indore, Jaipur, Kolkata, Lucknow, Ludhiana, Mumbai, Nagpur, Pune, Patna, Raipur, Siliguri and Vijayawada will be the first to gain access to the service.

Flipkart noted that for users to access same-day delivery, the order for an eligible item will need to be placed by 1pm. The customer can then be assured of getting the concerned item delivered before 12am (midnight). Orders placed after 1pm on a given day will be delivered the next day.

According to Flipkart, the service will be scaled out over several months to reach more users until the shipping option is available to users all across India. The firm added that several products - including mobiles, fashion and beauty items, lifestyle products, books, home appliances and electronics will be eligible for same-day delivery.

Amazon, a competing e-commerce platform in the country, offers different shipping options to its users including same-day delivery. For Amazon Prime members, same-day, one-day and two-day delivery options are free. Both Prime Lite and non-Prime users can access same-day and one-day delivery at an additional fee of Rs. 175 and Rs. 125 per item, respectively. However, Prime Lite members can enjoy a free two-day delivery — customers without a Prime subscription will need to pay an additional Rs. 120 per item instead.