Amazon just cranked up the speed on online shopping with the launch of Amazon Now, a new service designed to drop off essentials in about 30 minutes. It quietly flipped the switch in parts of Seattle and Philadelphia, marking its boldest move yet into the instant-delivery game.
We’re talking thousands of items – milk, eggs, chargers, cold medicine – delivered almost instantly. Prime members get a break with fees starting at $3.99, but if you aren’t a member, you’re looking at a steep $13.99 delivery charge. Plus, there is a small fee of $1.99 if your order is under $15.
To pull this off, Amazon didn’t just speed up its vans; it built entirely new, smaller warehouses right near neighborhoods. It’s a whole new layer of speed on top of its usual massive network.
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Why this matters – and what it means for customers
This is Amazon taking a direct shot at Instacart, Gopuff, and DoorDash. Those companies have struggled to make super-fast delivery profitable nationwide, but Amazon has the infrastructure to potentially make it work.
It’s also a strategic play to make your Prime subscription feel indispensable again. By shrinking delivery times to 30 minutes, Amazon isn’t just competing; it’s trying to reset consumer expectations entirely. If it can deliver a charger before your phone dies, that’s a powerful hook.
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Why You Should Care
For you, this means the “oh no, I forgot the [insert item]” panic is over. Whether it is diapers, toothpaste, or a missing dinner ingredient, you can get it faster than a pizza order.
But there is a catch: coverage is limited right now, and the costs add up fast if you aren’t on Prime. It is also shaking up the industry behind the scenes, with Amazon reportedly asking brands to figure out which products fit best in this new, hyper-fast pipeline.
What’s Next
Amazon hasn’t dropped a full roadmap yet, but the hiring patterns suggest more cities are coming. It’s currently testing the waters to see if we actually want stuff this fast. If we do, Amazon Now could become the new standard for Prime, forcing every other delivery app to scramble just to keep up.
