Amazon Now: The 30-Minute Delivery Service | Fast Five Shorts

Amazon is testing new Amazon Now 30 minute delivery service in Seattle and Philadelphia.

According to GeekWire, the new service is available inside the existing Amazon shopping app and website.

Customers in eligible neighborhoods can look for a 30 minute delivery option in the navigation bar, browse a curated catalog, track orders in real time, and tip their drivers.

Prime members can pay discounted delivery fees starting at 3.99 per order, compared with 1399 for non prime customers with a $1.99 small basket fee on orders under $15.

Small basket fees?

Oh, I don't like those ads.

Small basket fees, no.

The announcement comes on the heels of reporting by GeekWire last week that revealed Amazon was building out a new rapid delivery hub at a former Amazon Fresh pickup site in Seattle's big Ballard neighborhood.

I have to note too, I had a listener send me a picture this past weekend from the Amazon Fresh what was the Amazon Fresh store in one of the suburbs here in Minneapolis.

It's now a lava land jumping in place.

So these buildings are having to be repurposed for all kinds of things.

In this case, it is now being used as this rapid delivery hub.

Chris, should retailers take notice of Amazon's new 30 minute grocery delivery test?

Wow.

Yeah, I think notice.

Yes.

Yes.

And, and was that, I'm curious, was that, was that, that was like a purported Amazon Fresh site too, not like a live Amazon Fresh site, Right, Correct.

Yeah.

We didn't ever have any open in Minnesota, but yes, the, the, the building that was built and had been, had been given city approval to open an.

Amazon theory was going to be coming to Amazon Fresh.

Yes.

Right.

Okay.

Yeah.

So for me, I think notice, yes, I would be paying attention to it, but I think, I still think the play here is kind of limiting and it may even be, this actually may be even more of a defensive move from Amazon rather than an offensive move.

And because the reason I say that, in researching my, my article on Whole Foods and Amazon that I wrote recently in my weekly ramblings, I was struck by one statistic like I didn't know this.

I mean, and I think the Wall Street Journal, we might have even talked about it the week we did the story.

But Amazon share in groceries since the Whole Foods when it took over, whole foods was 4%.

Amazon share in grocery is still, still 4%.

And that's despite having the tailwind of the entire Amazon e commerce infrastructure behind its back.

So, you know, does this play into the quick need of people needing their milk with the electronics?

Yeah, I guess it does.

But how many people really need that as we've talked about it and if I'm Walmart or another grocer, you know, I can offer this same service via Instacart or Doordash.

Right now I can go the micro fulfillment route down the road like Amazon's trying to do as well.

So I'm not sure if I'm them.

I'm really all that scared by it, which is why it feels more reactive to me than anything and a need to do it move from Amazon more than anything else.

Yeah, I, it's, it's just still so expensive to me.

Like prime members paying discounted delivery fees for 399 an order.

Like after two orders I could get a doordash like subscription, monthly subscription and I have access to all of the other things like free food and 30 minute delivery and like it just it, I'm still, I'm still not.

That part is not making sense to me, especially during a pilot.

Like, I'm curious if they're even going to get enough people to participate in this at those prices to get real data that will help support whether or not this is something that they're going to want to do.

So I, I, I, and I, I just, I would say, you know, pressure testing this demand.

Sure, it makes sense.

I think it is a defensive move.

But I, I don't know, I think Amazon, you still have a product issue.

Like if I'm going to Doordash or Instacart, I'm getting products that are of a greater quality from my regional grocer that I trust, that I have a relationship with.

Yes.

And so I still think like, are you gonna hit it when they, when that thing arrives?

And I paid, you know, $20 now with all the fee, the small basket fees and the whatever, am I going to be satisfied with the product that arrives?

I still don't know the answer to that question.

So that for me is the biggest challenge here.