Amazon is expanding its rapid delivery service Amazon Now beyond London later this year.
The ecommerce giant revealed it plans to establish dark stores in Manchester and Birmingham, offering thousands of food products and household essentials for delivery in 30 minutes or less.
“Amazon Now is for when you need or want the convenience of getting your Amazon order delivered in 30 minutes or less,” said Udit Madan, senior vice president, Amazon Worldwide Operations.
“With thousands of items available for ultra-fast delivery, you can get everything from groceries for dinner, to AirPods before a flight, to household essentials like laundry detergent or toothpaste delivered right to your door,” Madan added.
Amazon launched Now in the UK in January, initially testing in select postcodes in Southwark in south-east London. It’s since launched a handful of further dark stores in the capital.
Users can shop from a “wide selection” of products across 35 categories, Amazon said, including everyday essentials like milk, eggs, fresh fruit & veg, toothpaste, pet treats, nappies and over-the-counter medicines.
The 30-minute delivery time is the fastest Amazon has offered in the UK, and brings it in line with the delivery time of aggregator apps like Deliveroo, Just Eat and Uber Eats, which have expanded in recent years into grocery and non-food retail.
The service is available to both Prime members and non-members. Prime members get discounted delivery fees starting at £1.99 per order, versus £3.99 for non-prime members. A £2 fee applies to all orders under £15, regardless of membership.
The plans to extend Amazon Now into new UK cities comes as part of Amazon’s global ambition to make the service available to tens of millions of customers by the end of the year.
It’s currently available across North and South America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia, with plans to continue expanding the service in the US and other markets.
The selection “focuses on the items customers need most urgently”. Customers can shop by category, including dairy and eggs, fresh produce, bakery, health, baby, pet, personal care, electronics, and alcohol where permitted, with personalised product recommendations.
In most areas where it’s available, Amazon Now serves customers 24 hours a day.
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