This is what’s cooking for those who want to order their dinner using an app: through the Prime Now service, Amazon customers in San Francisco can now enjoy free one-hour delivery from local restaurants.
Customers pay the same price with this restaurant delivery service – now with 115 participating establishments in 33 zip codes across the city – as they do at the actual restaurant, or Amazon will refund the order.
“San Francisco is known for incredible restaurants, and now Prime members across the city can enjoy their favorite local restaurants at home or at the office,” said Amazon Restaurants General Manager Gus Lopez, adding that they provide the same prices of dine-in menus – without hidden fees and with limited-time free delivery.
The mobile app allows Prime members in San Francisco to browse menus, place orders, track delivery status, and watch real-time as the driver travel to the delivery address. Once a customer finds within 24 hours that a menu item is priced higher on the Amazon service than on current online menu of the restaurant, Amazon will refund the price of the specific item.
The food delivery scene in San Francisco is already a bustling one, with Caviar, Munchery, Postmates, Sprig, and even Uber jumping into the food delivery game. Amazon, however, may be uniquely positioned for success, as it already has the logistics machinery and infrastructure to conquer new delivery segments.
Although it’s uncertain whether it will go on forever, the free delivery also serves as an enticing perk.
Prime Now restaurant delivery was first introduced in Seattle back in September. At present, it exists in eight cities across the U.S., including in Austin, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Portland.
Amazon recently expanded Prime Now services across 11 new metro areas, now increasing its footing in 27 major locations spanning across 1,000 cities. This is part of its annual member program worth $99 a year, with benefits including “Prime Now” for smartphone deals and “Free Two-Day” delivery for entire continental U.S.
Retail stores like Walmart and Target are yet to follow suit in the same-day delivery landscape, as it proves to be really tricky to accomplish that feat outside of large cities.
Photo: Jeremy Keith | Flickr
