Amazon India “I Have Space” Gets First-Ever Mobile, Floating Store To Facilitate Parcel Delivery

Amazon India has been roping in local shops or "Kirana" stores across India. Now the e-commerce giant has opened its first-ever floating store under the "I Have Space" program.

A floating store intended for last-mile delivery has opened up on Dal Lake in Srinagar, India. Let's see how Amazon is aggressively expanding in India and helping local shops in the process.

What Is Amazon India I Have Space Program For Local Shops?

Amazon India launched "I Have Space" back in 2015. To date, it has managed to join hands with 28,000 neighborhood and Kirana partners in about 420 towns and cities in India.

The I Have Space (IHS) program essentially partners with local stores and small businesses for delivering products. To ensure quick and safe deliveries to remote tier III and tier IV towns, Amazon restricts the delivery radius to just 4 kilometers. Oftentimes, multiple stores are available, and hence, quite a few locations have such delivery avenues within 2 kilometers.

Once enrolled, IHS partners receive packages delivered to their stores, which they need to deliver to the customer. The IHS partner receives payment from Amazon, based on the number of packages delivered.

Amazon does not ask any fees for the program and it is free to join. Moreover, Amazon pays a fixed amount per delivery to the local shop. On average, an Amazon IHS store partner can deliver between 20 and 30 packages a day. Needless to say, this is a good secondary income for local shops.

Floating Store For Amazon India To Distribute / Deliver Packages

Houseboats or floating livable spaces are quite common on the Dal Lake in Srinagar. These are rented out to tourists who wish to experience life on a lake or in a boat.

Amazon India has partnered with Murtaza Khan Kashi, owner of Selec Town houseboats. His team will deliver packages every day to customers at the doorstep of their houseboats as part of the onboarding process.

This will help Amazon India provide faster and more reliable deliveries to customers across Srinagar, Amazon Logistics, India, Director Karuna Shankar Pande said. The HIS program will generate business opportunities for small businesses and strengthen Amazon's delivery network, he added.