Amazon Now: Revolutionizing Delivery with 30-Minute Service in Seattle and Philadelphia

Amazon has officially launched Amazon Now, a groundbreaking ultra-fast delivery service currently being tested in Seattle and Philadelphia. The service guarantees delivery in approximately 30 minutes or less for essential household items and fresh groceries.

GeekWire’s previous reporting revealed that Amazon was transforming a former Amazon Fresh Pickup site in Seattle’s Ballard neighborhood into a rapid-delivery hub. Permit filings indicated that Amazon planned to experiment with a new delivery concept utilizing Amazon Flex drivers dispatched from the location at 5100 15th Ave. NW.

Amazon detailed the new service on its blog, accessible through the Amazon shopping app and website. Customers in eligible areas can find a “30-Minute Delivery” option in the navigation bar, browse a curated catalog, track orders in real-time, and tip their drivers. Prime members benefit from discounted delivery fees starting at $3.99 per order, while non-Prime customers pay $13.99, with an additional $1.99 fee for “small basket” orders under $15.

Amazon Now offers a wide range of items typically needed urgently, such as milk, eggs, fresh produce, toothpaste, cosmetics, pet treats, diapers, paper products, electronics, seasonal items, over-the-counter medicines, and snacks like chips and dips.

Although Amazon did not specify a timeline for expanding Amazon Now to other markets, the company is utilizing smaller, specialized facilities strategically placed near customers’ residences and workplaces to meet the 30-minute delivery window.

Permit filings detailed the operational process, where employees pick and bag items in a stockroom, stage completed orders on shelves, and hand them off to Amazon Flex drivers. The drivers are expected to arrive, scan, confirm, and depart with the package within approximately two minutes. The operation is set to run 24/7, resembling a convenience store.

By establishing its own Amazon Now micro-stores, the company aims to enhance inventory management, labor efficiency, and pickup operations as it delves deeper into “sub-same-day” delivery, competing with quick-commerce and micro-fulfillment competitors like GoPuff and DoorDash.

These new stores could also bolster Amazon’s recent initiative to integrate fresh groceries directly into Amazon.com orders, allowing customers to add produce and chilled items to standard same-day deliveries.

Amazon had previously discontinued its “Amazon Today” same-day delivery service, which relied on Flex drivers picking up small orders from malls and physical stores, following reports that drivers often left with minimal items.