Amazon’s delivery game just hit a new speed.
What started as a convenience has turned into a race against time. Amazon is now delivering at a pace that’s hard to ignore. According to a recent report by the company, it raised the bar for its delivery speed, adding one-hour and three-hour delivery options for thousands of items across several US cities, towns, and suburbs.
With over 90,000 items across different product categories, Amazon is not just making shopping easier for customers. It is also signaling to competitors that it intends to compete on speed. For Prime users, the benefits stack up even further. Not only do they get to retain all their Prime benefits, but they also get significant discounts on express delivery fees.
Speed backed by capacity
Amazon didn’t enter the speed race overnight. It moved from Next-Day to Same-Day Delivery, and now to orders arriving within hours.
However, behind the scenes of this speed is Amazon’s longterm- investments in both fulfillment centers and supercenters. As a result of these centers located in virtually every region in the US, speedy delivery becomes inevitable.
According to the report, these local supercenters carry daily essentials, from food staples to cleaning and personal care products. Beyond that, they also cover popular categories like electronics, toys, apparel, and home items, allowing customers to shop on their terms.
New delivery speed, extra figures
As cited by that same report, Udit Madan, senior vice president of Worldwide Operations at Amazon, gave reasons for the new delivery speed, saying:
“Our customers are busier than ever and are looking for new ways to save time while keeping their households running. We saw an opportunity to use our unique operational expertise and delivery network to help make customers’ lives a little easier while unlocking even more value for Prime members.”
Emphasizing innovation for Prime, he added: “We’re excited to say that two decades after Prime first launched, we’re still innovating to make delivery even faster, while maintaining the same everyday low prices and vast selection Amazon is known for.”
Prime members get a big discount on both one-hour and three-hour deliveries. Unlike customers without a Prime membership, Prime customers pay $9.99 and $4.99 for one-hour and three-hour deliveries, respectively. Every other customer gets an extra $10, making the one-hour delivery $19.99 and the three-hour delivery $14.99.
With free shipping available on over 300 million items across 35 categories, including tens of millions eligible for Same-Day or Next-Day delivery, Prime members come out ahead. They maintain their benefits and can opt for discounted express delivery or stick with free Same-Day and Next-Day shipping.
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Availability and the road ahead
Currently, one-hour delivery is available in hundreds of cities and towns, especially in metropolitan areas, while three-hour delivery is more widespread, spanning over 2,000 US cities, towns, and suburbs. Amazon also noted that while it is working to increase the number of available locations for speedy delivery, it operates seven days a week, keeping households supplied nonstop.
To make things easier, Amazon made changes to its user interface. Orders now receive a message near their listings specifying the available delivery timeline for that item, plus a search filter to find items by delivery timeline. To see what the delivery timeline is for your area, check this Amazon webpage.
Looking ahead, Amazon is also planning to implement Amazon Now, offering 30-minute-or-less delivery for thousands of items. With its fleet of robots running tasks at different centers, the company may be pushing delivery to near-instant speeds.
Also read: Amazon cut at least 100 jobs in its robotics division even as it continued expanding automation across its operations.