Amazon recently announced that it is piloting an ultra-fast delivery service called "Amazon Now" in parts of Seattle and Philadelphia in the United States, with the goal of delivering goods to users' doorsteps within 30 minutes of placing an order. This service focuses on daily high-frequency needs, covering fresh food, household necessities and some electronic products. It is regarded as Amazon's latest offensive in the instant retail battlefield.
According to reports, Amazon Now has been integrated into the main Amazon shopping application of local users. Eligible consumers can click on the "30-Minute Delivery" option in the application navigation bar to check whether they are in the service coverage area. Users can place orders through this interface, track delivery progress in real time and tip delivery staff.
In terms of price, Amazon has set different thresholds for Prime members and non-members: Prime subscribers start shipping at $3.99 per order, while regular users start from $13.99. In addition, the platform charges an additional small basket fee of $1.99 for small orders under $15 to balance the cost of ultra-fast fulfillment.
To achieve 30-minute delivery, Amazon Now relies on small professional fulfillment centers located around service areas. These facilities are closer to communities than traditional large warehouses, which can shorten picking and shipping times. Amazon hopes to use this to compete head-on with local delivery and fresh food e-commerce platforms such as DoorDash and Instacart in the field of "half-hour home delivery" instant retail.
This is not Amazon’s first foray into ultra-fast delivery. It has been exploring this field for more than two decades. Back in 2000, Amazon invested about $60 million in one-hour delivery service Kozmo, but it ultimately failed. Prime Now, an independent "two-hour delivery" service launched in 2014, once expanded to multiple cities, but was shut down in 2021 and integrated back into the main app.
The most recent attempt is the offline service "Amazon Today", which focuses on "same-day delivery". The business announced its closure in October 2024, showing the difficulty of finding a sustainable model on the ultra-fast delivery track. However, Prime members can still enjoy same-day delivery options through the regular Amazon shopping app, but it no longer operates under a separate brand or independent app.
From the perspective of industry insiders, Amazon Now is seen as Amazon's new departure from the ultra-fast fulfillment model after many trials and errors, in an attempt to increase profitability through a more sophisticated warehouse distribution layout and differentiated charging structure. For consumers, the appeal of 30-minute delivery in terms of convenience is self-evident, but whether it can operate for a long time under high cost pressure remains to be verified by the market.