Amazon said Tuesday it is rolling out faster delivery services in hundreds of U.S. cities, including some in Florida, on a variety of items typically found at supercenters.
Amazon said customers in more than 2,000 cities, towns, and suburban areas can choose one- or three-hour delivery on more than 90,000 items. The service isn’t free: Amazon Prime members will pay $9.99 for one-hour delivery and $4.99 for three-hour delivery; the cost to nonmembers is $19.99 and $14.99, respectively.
Amazon said the one-hour service is available in major metropolitan areas like Los Angeles, Chicago and Washington, D.C., as well as in smaller cities such as Des Moines, Iowa; Boise, Idaho; and American Fork, Utah.Three-hour service is offered in more than 2,000 cities and towns, including large, mid-size, and small cities, as well as surrounding suburbs like Cornwall, Pennsylvania; Harrah, Oklahoma; and Arabi, Louisiana.
To find out if expedited delivery service is available where you live, go to the “get it fast” tab on Amazon.
The Seattle-based behemoth said customers can browse items typically found at a big box supercenter without having to leave their homes.
“We saw an opportunity to use our unique operational expertise and delivery network to help make customers’ lives a little easier while unlocking even more value for Prime members,” Udit Madan, senior vice president of worldwide operations at Amazon, said in a statement.
Amazon launched its Prime membership service in 2005, giving members two-day delivery on about a million items, primarily CDs, DVDs and books. Now, Prime members can choose from more than 300 million items across 35 categories, many of them available for same-day or next-day delivery.
“We’re excited to say that two decades after Prime first launched, we’re still innovating to make delivery even faster, while maintaining the same everyday low prices and vast selection Amazon is known for,” Madan said
The company has used robotics and artificial intelligence technology to speed up order fulfillment. Regionalizing its U.S. delivery network into eight areas also has helped reduce delivery times, Amazon said.
Amazon is testing an ultra-fast service for deliveries in 30 minutes or less. Amazon Now is available in various cities in India, Mexico and the United Arab Emirates and is being tested in several communities in the U.S. and the United Kingdom, according to the company.
Rival retailer Walmart has focused on faster deliveries too. The Bentonville, Arkansas-based company says it offers same-day deliveries in under three hours to 95 percent of the U.S. population, compared to 76 percent three years ago.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.