By Anietie anii-bassey
More than two decades after transforming the e-commerce landscape with two-day shipping for Prime members, Amazon is preparing to raise consumer expectations yet again, introducing a service that promises to deliver customers’ urgent orders in 30 minutes or less for an additional fee.
The new initiative, known as Amazon Now, marks the company’s latest step in its relentless pursuit of speed, following years of innovations that shortened delivery times from two days to same-day and one-hour options. Amazon has begun opening small urban micro-fulfillment hubs in dozens of cities across the United States and internationally, aiming to serve shoppers who need essentials—from cough medicine to dinner ingredients—almost immediately.
Amazon Now first launched in India last June. Since then, the service has expanded to urban areas of Brazil, Mexico, Japan, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The micro-warehouses supporting the program are compact, roughly the size of a typical drugstore, and stock about 3,500 carefully selected items ranging from beer and diapers to pet food, nonprescription medications, meat, and cellphone charging cables.
Beryl Tomay, Amazon’s head of transportation, highlighted the growing appetite for speed among customers. “We know that customers love speed and always have,” she said. “What we see is that when we offer faster options, they purchase more from Amazon, and it becomes top of mind for other types of items as well.”
In the U.S., Amazon first piloted Amazon Now in Seattle, the company’s headquarters, and Philadelphia. It has since expanded to Atlanta, Dallas-Fort Worth, and plans to bring the service to Houston, Denver, Minneapolis, New York, Phoenix, Oklahoma City, Orlando, and many other cities by the end of the year. Pricing for the service starts at $3.99 for Prime members, who pay $139 annually, and $13.99 for non-members. Orders under $15 incur an additional small-basket fee of $1.99.
Amazon’s aggressive move into ultrafast deliveries comes amid a broader debate about the environmental and labor implications of accelerated shipping. While rapid delivery has helped the company build a vast logistics and e-commerce empire, some consumers are increasingly conscious of the trade-offs involved in rushing orders.
The new micro-fulfillment hubs differ significantly from Amazon’s larger fulfillment centers, which can cover hundreds of thousands of square feet and rely heavily on robotics and automation. Amazon Now facilities are much smaller—typically between 5,000 and 10,000 square feet—and a handful of employees pick and pack orders for rapid delivery.
The inventory is tailored to each location using artificial intelligence and data analytics, allowing the company to anticipate which products will be in highest demand at what times. In the U.S., common purchases include soap, toothpaste, bananas, limes, and wireless earbuds.
Amazon Now places the company in direct competition with established on-demand delivery services, such as Instacart, Uber Eats, DoorDash, and Grubhub. Retail analysts note that Amazon’s logistical scale and supply chain expertise give it a competitive advantage.
“What Amazon brings is their prowess in supply chain,” said Bruce Winder, an independent retail analyst. Smaller delivery platforms maintain that they remain focused on augmenting the reach of existing retailers and grocers rather than replacing them.
The service also positions Amazon in a race with Walmart, which offers Walmart Express Delivery for more than 100,000 products with a promise of one-hour delivery for an additional $10. Many Walmart customers report receiving items in less than 30 minutes, according to company executives.
The concept of guaranteed ultrafast delivery is not without historical pitfalls. Domino’s Pizza famously offered a “30 minutes or free” guarantee in the 1980s, only to end the program after two years amid safety concerns and legal challenges.
Analysts caution that overpromising speed can backfire, though Amazon is not guaranteeing delivery times. Tomay emphasized that customers will receive updates on their orders, and that neither warehouse staff nor gig workers will be rushed.
Early data suggest that Amazon Now may find a receptive audience, particularly in densely populated urban areas. Analysts note that the service is most cost-effective when multiple orders originate from the same building or nearby locations. However, not all consumers prioritize speed; younger shoppers, particularly Generation Z, are increasingly opting for “no-rush” shipping to consolidate deliveries, reduce packaging, and lower environmental impact.
Despite these nuances, Amazon executives point to encouraging early results in India, where Prime members tripled their use of 30-minute delivery once the service became available. The company is seeing similar patterns in the United States, with repeat customers using Amazon Now more frequently.
“It’s still early, and time will tell,” Tomay said. “It will be interesting to see how this evolves.”
With Amazon Now, the e-commerce giant is once again challenging the boundaries of consumer expectations, signaling that the race for ever-faster delivery shows no sign of slowing.
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