Amazon has recently launched its own rapid grocery delivery service, promising deliveries in under 30 minutes. This service offers a wide selection of groceries and household essentials, ranging from milk and eggs to nappies and medicines.
With this move, Amazon is directly competing with supermarkets that already collaborate with delivery companies to provide similarly fast services. This initiative comes after Amazon’s decision to close all its Amazon Fresh grocery stores last September.
The newly introduced Amazon Now service is currently being piloted in selected postcodes in the Southwark area of London, utilizing bike delivery. Plans are underway to expand this service to more areas in the upcoming months. Amazon Flex will be used to recruit delivery riders, who will not be direct employees of Amazon.
John Boumphrey, the Country Manager of Amazon UK, stated in a blog post on the company’s website that Amazon Now is designed to offer customers a higher level of speed and convenience by delivering thousands of products in less than half an hour. This service reflects Amazon’s dedication to faster deliveries, complementing their existing same-day or next-day delivery options for customers across the UK.
Amazon’s introduction of ultra-fast deliveries follows its collaboration with Gopuff last July. This partnership aimed to enable customers to receive a variety of items, including fresh food and cleaning supplies, in under an hour, with some items arriving in as little as 15 minutes.
Prime members can benefit from discounted delivery fees starting from £1.99 per order through Amazon Now, compared to £3.99 for non-Prime members. Additionally, a flat £2 fee is applicable to all orders under £15, regardless of membership status. Prime members already enjoy expedited, free delivery on numerous products across all categories.
The blog post from Amazon also hinted at forthcoming updates about the service, promising to make shopping more convenient, faster, and affordable for customers throughout the UK.
When Amazon announced the closure of its 19 UK grocery stores last September, it emphasized a shift towards enhancing its online delivery services. The company described the decision to shut down physical stores as a challenging yet strategic move following a thorough evaluation of business operations and the substantial growth opportunities in online deliveries.
Within five years of launching its checkout-free stores in London, Amazon’s grocery delivery partnerships have expanded to include Morrisons, Co-op, Iceland, and Gopuff. Amazon clarified that the launch of Amazon Now is independent of the store closures, reiterating its ongoing commitment to catering to customers through diverse service offerings.
Amazon emphasized its continuous investment in expanding its online grocery and household essentials segment, underscoring its rapid growth within the UK market.