Amazon India opens first floating store in Dal lake houseboat
The floating store on Dal Lake in Srinagar, housed within a houseboat, will cater to daily deliveries for customers in Srinagar, ensuring faster and more reliable services. The program aims to strengthen Amazon's delivery network, provide opportunities for small businesses, and enhance the overall delivery experience in the region
FollowAmazon India recently unveiled its first-ever floating store in the renowned Dal Lake situated in Srinagar as part of the 'I Have Space' last-mile delivery programme. This unique store will be housed within a houseboat and will cater to daily deliveries for customers across Srinagar. The owner of the houseboat 'Selec Town', Murtaza Khan Kashi, will be actively involved in delivering packages directly to customers' houseboats, playing a crucial role in the onboarding process.
For Murtaza, participating in the 'I Have Space' program has become a path to empowerment and an avenue for earning extra income. As the owner of a houseboat, Murtaza's primary business relied heavily on seasonal tourism in Srinagar, leading to fluctuations in his earnings. Managing the houseboat's expenses became challenging for his family. In search of supplementary income opportunities, Murtaza decided to join the 'I Have Space' programme.
Karuna Shankar Pande, the Director of Amazon Logistics in India, expressed that this creative initiative aims to enhance the delivery experience for customers in Srinagar, ensuring faster and more reliable deliveries. Moreover, it also opens up new opportunities for local small businesses while strengthening Amazon's expansive delivery network.
Since its launch in 2015, the 'I Have Space' program has established partnerships with over 28,000 neighbourhood and Kirana stores across approximately 420 towns and cities in India. The program collaborates with local stores and small businesses, facilitating deliveries within a 2-4 kilometres radius, thereby optimizing last-mile logistics and expanding Amazon's accessibility across the country.
Image: Amazon India
How the 'I Have Space' programme operates
Amazon first verifies if the store is eligible and capable of handling deliveries. Once approved, the store would be onboarded as an 'I Have Space' partner. Amazon delivery associates or logistics partners would deliver the packages to the nearest 'I Have Space' partner store. The store would then hold the packages and notify the customers for pickup or delivery of the packages to the customers' doorsteps, acting as the last-mile delivery partner.
'I Have Space' partners reportedly receive incentives from Amazon for each successful delivery or based on specific performance metrics. The 'I Have Space' program aims to leverage the existing retail network in remote areas, providing economic opportunities to local store owners while also enabling Amazon to expand its delivery capabilities to previously unreached regions.
