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Amazon has begun offering fast, free deliveries of online groceries to Prime members living in London in a move that had been reported by trade press earlier this year.
The company will expand its service to millions of Prime and Amazon Fresh members across multiple cities in the UK by year-end, with Birmingham, Manchester and Edinburgh to be among the first places to benefit, according to The Guardian.
The company will offer free delivery within two hours on grocery purchases orders above £40 ($52). Customers wishing even faster delivery can pay £3.99 for the one-hour privilege. Smaller orders under £40 will carry a £3.99 charge for two-hour delivery and £6.99 for one hour, and the minimum order bar has been lowered from £40 to £15.
Amazon Fresh purchases had previously required a monthly add-on fee of £3.99 or a £2.99 delivery fee, in addition to the annual Prime subscription fee of £79.
The Fresh service will now encompass same-day deliveries up to midnight provided shoppers order by 9pm.
In expanding its service, Amazon is eager to capture a larger share of the burgeoning online UK grocery market, which The Guardian says will grow 76.2% to £19.5 billion this year, spurred by the COVID-19 lockdowns.
The company’s move to broaden its UK footprint comes as it faces increasing challenges in its home market from Walmart, Target and other traditional grocery stores.
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Source: Equities News
