Amazon has announced that it’s launching its grocery delivery service in Chicago and Dallas, the latest in a line of expansions for the service in recent times.
First launched in beta way back in 2007 in Mercer Island, Washington, AmazonFresh slowly expanded over the next eight years into Seattle, Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, New York, Philadelphia, and Sacramento, among other areas of the U.S. In 2016, Amazon has ramped up its market launches, bringing the service to Boston, Northern Virginia, Baltimore, and to London — its first international launch. The service has also expanded within other markets where it was already available.
In a nutshell, AmazonFresh promises to deliver a range of “home” goods — such as fruit, vegetables, and meat — on the same day or the next day, depending on when they’re ordered. The service is available to $99/year Prime members, who must also pay an extra $14.99 per month to access AmazonFresh. This add-on monthly fee was recently scythed from a hefty $300 per year.
Amazon has long been looking to push beyond its ecommerce platform roots and into the broader services realm. Indeed, the company has been aggressively expanding its restaurant delivery service since it launched in Seattle last year, and it’s now available in myriad U.S. cities, as well as London.
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Amazon has also been expanding its consumer goods-ordering Dash Buttons program outside the U.S., having first introduced the Wi-Fi-connected buttons in the U.S. in March of last year. This feature was recently brought to international markets, kicking off with the U.K., Germany, and Austria.
Ultimately, Amazon wants to reach far and deep into the lives of consumers everywhere, and by launching AmazonFresh in major conurbations such as Chicago and Dallas, the internet giant moves one step closer to being everything to everyone.
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