Amazon makes major change to deliveries for millions of customers
The e-commerce empire has expanded its same-day delivery service to include fresh groceries in over 1,000 US cities and towns.
Produce, dairy, meat, seafood, baked goods and frozen foods are among the thousands of products which will be delivered by the grocery service.
It is available to members for free on orders totaling at least $25. Customers who are not members are eligible for same-day delivery for a fee of $12.99.
'By introducing fresh groceries into our same-day delivery service, we're creating a quick-and-easy experience for customers,' said Doug Herrington, CEO of Worldwide Amazon Stores.
'They can order milk alongside electronics; oranges, apples, and potatoes with a mystery novel; and frozen pizza at the same time as tools for their next home improvement project — and check out with one cart and have everything delivered to their doorstep within hours.'
Raleigh, Milwaukee, Tampa and Columbus are among the new cities that Amazon is extending the service to. The company also plans to expand the service to at least 2,300 areas by the end of this year.
The grocery addition comes in the midst of Amazon's plans to expand its same-day and next-day delivery to over 4,000 small cities, towns and rural communities in the US.
The company added perishable groceries to its service last year in Phoenix, Arizona, and has gradually expanded to other areas since then.
Over 200 million Americans use Prime to purchase items, spending over $100 billion on groceries and household goods alone in 2024.
'Overall, this expansion to offer same-day delivery of perishable groceries creates a one-stop shop for an array of customer needs,' said Telsey Advisory Group analysts.
'Importantly, we believe this is a strong move for Amazon, deepening relationships with and share of wallet among its Prime member customers, as well as positioning the company to compete better with other leaders in the grocery space, like Albertsons, Kroger, Target and Walmart.'
The expansion is connected to the company's $4 billion investment to triple the size of its rural delivery network by next year.
Retail expert Neil Saunders, of GlobalData, told the Daily Mail that he believes the new service will help the company expand its market share in food.
'As Amazon already has a lot of the logistical infrastructure in place, it should be able to grow profitably — which is something other online grocers have struggled to do. It almost certainly puts pressure on other players like Instacart,' he said.
'Although Walmart, while under some threat, has a huge advantage as it can fulfil from its extensive network of stores. Walmart also has deep pockets to compete with Amazon.'
Retail expert Neil Saunders, of GlobalData, told the Daily Mail that he believes the new service will help the company expand its market share in food
If Amazon's grocery delivery expansion goes smoothly, the company will look into entering other US cities in 2026.
Amazon has made a variety of changes this year — with some resulting in backlash from customers.
The company axed its Try Before You Buy Service in January — a 'total bummer' in the eyes of some Prime users.
The company was also accused of raising prices on hundreds of everyday items, from Campbell's soup to Dove deodorant, despite promising to shield shoppers from tariff-driven inflation.
A Wall Street Journal review of nearly 2,500 products found prices rose on about 1,200 items between January 20 and July 1.
In contrast, big box rival Walmart lowered its prices on the same items by nearly two percent.
The company also ditched its Freevee streaming service last month, transferring a host of TV shows to Prime Video following the discontinuation.
Despite some backlash, the company's net sales increased by 13 percent in the second quarter of this year to $167.7 billion.
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