Amazon is expanding its new “Amazon Now” service to dozens of U.S. cities, promising delivery of groceries and household essentials in about 30 minutes or less.
The service will initially reach millions of customers in metro areas including Atlanta, Dallas-Fort Worth, Philadelphia and Seattle, with more cities planned by year’s end.
Prime members will pay delivery fees starting at $3.99, while Amazon positions the service as its fastest mainstream delivery option yet.
Several decades ago, a pizza chain promised delivery within 30 minutes or less. Now Amazon is making that promise in select cities – sort of.
The company has announced that the ultra-fast delivery service -- around 30 minutes -- is expanding to dozens of cities across the United States after initial pilot programs in Seattle and Philadelphia. Amazon said the service is now broadly available in Atlanta, Dallas-Fort Worth, Philadelphia and Seattle, while additional expansion is planned for cities including Houston, Phoenix, Denver, Orlando, Minneapolis and Oklahoma City.
Amazon Now focuses on high-demand items customers may need immediately, including groceries, household essentials, over-the-counter medications, pet supplies and small electronics. Amazon executive Udit Madan said the service is designed for situations where consumers “need or want the convenience” of rapid delivery.
The service operates through smaller urban fulfillment hubs stocked with roughly 3,500 frequently purchased products. Those facilities are significantly smaller than Amazon’s traditional warehouses and are intended to shorten delivery times in densely populated areas.
What it costs
Prime members will pay delivery fees beginning at $3.99 per order, while non-Prime customers will pay $13.99. Amazon also plans to charge small-order fees for purchases under $15.
The launch intensifies competition among retailers racing to provide near-instant fulfillment. Walmart already offers express delivery on more than 100,000 products, and app-based services such as Instacart and DoorDash have conditioned consumers to expect faster delivery windows.
Amazon executives said the company has seen strong demand for faster shipping options, noting that orders for everyday essentials are growing faster than other delivery categories. The company has steadily shortened delivery windows over the past decade, moving from two-day Prime shipping to same-day and one-hour delivery in some markets.
Still, analysts cautioned that ultrafast delivery can be expensive and difficult to scale profitably.
Amazon also appears mindful of comparisons to Domino’s Pizza’s abandoned “30 minutes or less” guarantee, which ended in the 1990s after lawsuits tied to delivery crashes. Amazon said it will not guarantee delivery times and emphasized that workers and drivers are not expected to rush orders.