Amazon is expanding its 30-minute “Amazon Now” service to dozens of U.S. cities, with plans to reach tens of millions of customers across the country by the end of the year.
The service, which GeekWire first uncovered through permit filings in Seattle’s Ballard neighborhood last November, delivers fresh groceries, household essentials, and other items from small neighborhood fulfillment hubs using its Amazon Flex citizens’ delivery brigade.
It has been limited until now to Seattle and Philadelphia as test markets.
The company announced Tuesday morning that Amazon Now is now widely available in Atlanta, Dallas-Fort Worth, Philadelphia, and Seattle, and is “rapidly expanding” into Austin, Denver, Houston, Minneapolis, Orlando, Oklahoma City, Phoenix, and other cities.
The expansion is the latest and most aggressive move in Amazon’s push to dominate “sub-same-day” delivery, a category where it’s competing with Gopuff, DoorDash, and Instacart.
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy highlighted Amazon Now in both his annual shareholder letter and the company’s Q1 earnings call last month, framing it as part of a broader quest for faster deliveries that also includes drones, one- and three-hour options, and same-day shipping.
Prime members pay a $3.99 delivery fee for Amazon Now, compared with $13.99 for non-Prime customers. Orders under $15 carry an additional small-order fee of $1.99 for Prime members and $3.99 for non-Prime — a change from the flat $1.99 fee when it launched in December.
In two separate GeekWire tests of Amazon Now in Seattle, orders arrived well under the 30-minute promise. Reporter Kurt Schlosser got his delivery in 23 minutes in December, and a separate live test during the GeekWire Podcast in February clocked in at 19 minutes.
Amazon also faces competition from Walmart, which has been quietly hitting similar speeds from its existing store network. Walmart CEO John Furner said in February that the company is averaging under an hour on Express Delivery orders, with a large number arriving in less than 30 minutes — without dedicated micro-hubs.
Amazon isn’t promising the fastest delivery times. Gopuff’s Fam20 promises 20 minutes, and DoorDash piloted 10-to-15-minute deliveries in New York before ending the program. But reliability has been a weak spot for speedy delivery services, and with its logistics expertise, Amazon is betting that consistently hitting 30 minutes matters more than promising 10.
Walmart is also a competitor in this realm, quietly hitting similar speeds from its existing store network. Walmart CEO John Furner said in February that the company is averaging under an hour on Express Delivery orders, with a large number arriving in less than 30 minutes.
Amazon has struggled to make the economics ultra-fast delivery work in the past.
Its “Prime Now” one- and two-hour delivery service launched in 2014 and was shut down in 2021, and “Amazon Today,” which used Flex drivers to pick up orders from malls and retailers, was discontinued in late 2024 after drivers often left stores with just one or two items.
Amazon Now takes a different approach, using dedicated company-operated hubs designed specifically for rapid fulfillment.
The service is accessible through the Amazon shopping app and website at amazon.com/now. Amazon declined to provide a full list of cities where the service will soon be available but said customers can check the app to see if Amazon Now is offered in their area.
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