Overview
- Amazon Now, announced Tuesday, is live in Seattle, Philadelphia, Atlanta and Dallas–Fort Worth with rollouts starting in Austin, Denver, Houston, Minneapolis, Orlando, Oklahoma City and Phoenix.
- Prime members pay a $3.99 delivery fee per order versus $13.99 for non‑Prime, with a small‑order surcharge below $15 of $1.99 for Prime and $3.99 for others.
- Amazon says it hits the 30‑minute window by shipping from small urban hubs near homes that stock a curated set of roughly 3,500 essentials and dispatching orders to on‑demand Flex drivers.
- The move challenges Gopuff, DoorDash and Instacart, while Walmart says its Express deliveries average under an hour with many arriving in less than 30 minutes from stores.
- Availability is set to reach tens of millions of U.S. shoppers by year’s end, which could turn more last‑minute grocery and household runs into app orders at all hours in most areas.