amazon instant pickup

Amazon Instant Pickup will eventually roll out to 22 campus locations

Amazon has gone one step further in its drive for speed by launching a two-minute click & collect service.

Prime members can order items such as snacks, drinks and electronic devices on their mobiles and collect them in two minutes or fewer at Amazon Instant Pickup stations.

The five locations - Los Angeles, Atlanta, Berkeley, Columbus and College Park - are all on or near college campuses in a bid to appeal to students.

Amazon is looking to roll out the instant service to its remaining 17 pick-up stations on campuses “in the coming months”.

A choice of “hundreds” of items are eligible for the instant service, including food, cold drinks, personal care items, and “technology essentials” such as the Amazon Echo and Fire TV Stick.

Prime members need only download the Amazon Shopping App, select Instant Pickup items, specify their chosen collection point and pick up their order from a self-service locker.

The initiative demonstrates Amazon’s growing emphasis on click & collect. The giant has heavily invested in Amazon lockers and committed to a wider rollout of Amazon Fresh Pickup locations, which can process grocery orders in as little as 15 minutes.