Four months after closing all of its till-free grocery stores in the UK, Amazon is testing a super-fast delivery option instead
New Amazon Now service offers thousands of grocery lines(Image: No credit)
Online giant Amazon has begun its own ultra-fast grocery deliveries in under 30 minutes.
Households will be able to pick from thousands of groceries and household essentials, from milk and eggs to nappies and medicines.
By doing so, Amazon is going head-to-head with supermarkets that already have tie-ups with delivery firms offering the same sort of super-fast services.
It comes after the company admitted defeat last September and confirmed plans to close all of its Amazon Fresh grocery stores.
The new Amazon Now service is being tested in selected postcodes in the Southwark area in London – by bike – but with plans to roll it out further in the coming months. Riders will be recruited through Amazon Flex, meaning they are not directly employed.
Writing in a blog on the firm’s website, Amazon UK country manager John Boumphrey said: “Amazon Now brings a new level of speed and convenience to customers, delivering thousands of groceries and household essentials in less than 30 minutes.
“It’s the latest example of our commitment to faster delivery, building on the millions of items we already deliver the same or next day to customers across the UK.”
Amazon’s decision to launch its own ultra-fast deliveries follows the launch of a partnership with Gopuff last July. At the time it said the option would allow shoppers the ability to receive everything from fresh food to cleaning supplies in under 60 minutes – and as fast as 15 minutes.
The new service allows Prime members to get discounted Amazon Now delivery fees from £1.99 per order, versus £3.99 for others. A £2 fee applies to all orders under £15, regardless of membership. Prime members already get fast, free delivery on millions of items across all categories.
Amazon’s blog added: “More news about the offering will follow the coming months, as Amazon continues to make shopping easier, faster, and more affordable for customers across the UK.”
Amazon said it would focus on its online delivery services when it announced the closure of its 19 UK grocery stores last September.
It said it had “made the difficult decision” after a “thorough evaluation of business operations and the very substantial growth opportunities in online delivery.”
The rare failure came less than five years after it launched the till-free sites in London. The company said at the time its online delivery tie-ups would include partners Morrisons, Co-op, Iceland, as well as Gopuff.
Amazon insisted the Now launch is not connected with the store closures, adding: “These are separate decisions that reflect our ongoing commitment to serve customers in the ways that work best for them.
“We continue to invest in growing our online grocery and household essentials offering, which is one of the fastest-growing parts of our UK business.”