Seattle residents that suddenly find the need to refill their beer cabinets will no longer need to drive down to a store to purchase bottles, as Amazon's speedy delivery service Prime Now will begin to deliver beer, wine and spirits to its customers in America for the first time.
Prime Now, the online retail giant's service that promises deliveries within as fast as one hour, was just launched in Seattle and a few surrounding cities, namely Bellevue, Kirkland and Redmond. Through Prime Now, customers have their purchased items delivered to their doorstep within one hour for $7.99. Two-hour deliveries through the Prime Now service, however, are free.
The delivery service is exclusively available to Amazon Prime members, and can be accessed through the service's app for iOS and Android devices. The app also allows users to track the location of the courier handling their package once the delivery is on the way.
The launch in Seattle also marks Amazon's first time to offer drinks such as beer and wine, along with hard liquor such as rum, whiskey and vodka, as part of the one-hour or two-hour delivery service. Amazon, however, did not specify whether the option will only be for Seattle, which is the location of the headquarters of Amazon, or if the Prime Now beer delivery service will also expand to other locations.
Customers can sign up as Amazon Prime members by paying an annual fee of $99. According to Amazon, it has tens of millions of subscribers to the program, with analysts estimating 40 million users from all over the world as Amazon Prime members.
Amazon has been steadily expanding Prime Now since the service was launched last year in New York City. Other cities where the service has gone operational are Miami, Baltimore, Dallas, Atlanta, Austian, Chicago and Indianapolis.
"Prime Now is our fastest delivery option ever. With Prime Now, you can skip a trip to the store and get the items you need delivered right to your door in under an hour," said Amazon Prime Now director Stephenie Landry in a statement.
Prime Now can deliver beer, wine and liquor to Prime Now customers in Seattle seven days a week from 8 a.m. to midnight.
