Amazon introduces free grocery deliveries

Amazon is making home deliveries of fresh food and groceries free-of-charge for Prime customers in the United States. This aggressive move is likely to finally lead to a breakthrough in the food sector.

“Game changer”

A “game changer”, Stephenie Landry, vice director of grocery deliveries at Amazon, calls it. And so it might well be, since Amazon customers with a Prime subscription will no longer have to pay extra to have their groceries delivered to their homes.

Amazon is counting on this service becoming one of the favourite benefits for Prime members. Not only will deliveries become free-of-charge, but groceries will also be delivered within one to two hours. This is valid for orders from Amazon Fresh and the physical supermarket chain Whole Foods Market, which can now be found together on the same online portal.

Amazon Fresh makes a comeback

The news is surprising, since online shopping service Amazon Fresh has so far been unable to gain a foothold in the market. In 2017, the service was even pulled in a number of regions. Landry, however, is now saying that the grocery delivery business is very much growing and over the course of this year, it has been extended to include areas such as Nashville, Orlando and Las Vegas.

Even those who do not have access to Amazon Fresh will still be able to order groceries via Prime Now elsewhere in the United States, Landry promised Reuters. Outside of the United States, however, free deliveries are not yet on the agenda.