Big box brick and mortar stores have long since expanded into selling you fresh and packaged groceries to go along with your clothes, books, electronics, and housewares. Amazon, unwilling to be left behind by any 21st century shopping trend, now seems ready to expand their own grocery offerings right on cue.
Amazon first started selling their $300 Prime Fresh memberships in late 2015. For the 18 months, the service has been available in selected parts of California, New Jersey, Washington, and in parts of New York City and Philly. Apparently, tech site Recode now reports, it’s proven popular enough to start selling elsewhere, too — or at least Amazon thinks it will.
According to Recode, the northern end of the Acela corridor should be getting Prime Fresh service sometime soon, when Boston comes online. And in global reach, Amazon is also expected to start grocery delivery in the UK sometime soon.
Recode also points out that Amazon is throwing every kind of grocery service it can at the wall these days: Prime customers who use Prime Pantry can buy a collection of grocery items through the site, and in several cities Amazon Prime Now also has partnerships with local grocers to deliver fresh food on demand.
(After a scathing investigation by Bloomberg, Amazon has recently promised to make same-day Prime Now available in all Boston ZIP codes, not just the wealthiest ones.)
On top of that, reports say Amazon is even launching its own store-brand groceries in the coming weeks.
Recode points out that investors seem confused by Amazon’s try-everything strategy, but one thing does seem clear: Amazon absolutely wants to be your “everything store,” the same as Target and Walmart, and is willing to sell you all the cheese you can eat if you just sign up for their annual memberships.
by Kate Cox via Consumerist