Amazon will be expanding its same-day Prime delivery service to six more U.S. states. The company introduced the service last year during the peak of the coronavirus pandemic.
Amazon also now offers its consumers the ability to shop up to 3 million items on its site, which they can receive in only a few hours.
Amazon Same-Day Service Expansion
Amazon invested in mini-fulfilment centers that are situated closer to where consumers lived in select markets.
Consumers can choose items available in numerous merchandise categories such as Beauty & Health, Electronics, Kitchen & Dining, Baby, Pet Supplies, and more.
The e-commerce company first offered the service in Phoenix, Orlando, Philadelphia, and Dallas. In November 2020, Amazon expanded it to Nashville and Washington, D.C.
Now, the company will roll out the Prime service in Chicago, Baltimore, Tampa, Detroit, Houston, and Charlotte, bringing the total to 12 cities, according to TechCrunch.
Amazon decided to expand its same-day Prime delivery service to stay on top of its e-commerce rivals like Google and Macy's.
Consumers can place their orders online and receive the items in just five hours in these select markets. They can also order items online by midnight, and their items will be delivered the following morning, according to Market Watch.
Orders that are placed between midnight and 8 a.m. will arrive at your doorstep by 1 p.m. All orders placed between 8:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. will arrive by 6 p.m., the orders placed between 1:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. will arrive at your doorstep by 10:00 a.m. and those placed between 5:00 p.m. and 12:00 a.m. midnight will arrive by 8:00 a.m.
Consumers can place their orders late at night and still receive them before they head out.
The same-day delivery service is free for orders that are over $35. If the order is less than $35, there will be a $2.99 fee for Prime members and a $12.99 fee for non-Prime members. A Prime membership costs $12.99 or $119 per year.
Free One Day Shipping Brazil
Aside from expanding its service in the United States, Amazon is also branching out in Brazil. The e-commerce company began offering its Brazilian consumers free one-day shipping in 50 cities as it fights for a spot in the country's market.
The decision came as rivals such as Magazine Luiza and MercadoLibre are changing their system to ramp up their delivery speeds and get more loyal clients.
In 2019, when Amazon launched the Prime subscription in Brazil, the users had access to free two-day shipping with the option of paying an extra fee for one-day shipping. Now, Brazilian Prime subscribers can opt for the one-day delivery service for free.
Brazil has more than 105 million online shoppers, which is why a lot of e-commerce companies are competing for the top spot, according to Reuters.
In 2020, Amazon placed fourth in the list of e-commerce sites with the most visitors in Brazil, trailing behind domestic competitors such as Americanas, MercadoLibre, and OLX, according to Ebanx.
Same-day shipping can be a challenge for some e-commerce companies, especially since logistics is an issue due to its patchy infrastructure.
MercadoLibre, for example, announced that it would invest $1.91 billion into logistics as it is also eyeing to launch same-day delivery in some cities.
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Written by Sophie Webster
