Amazon today stepped up its UK delivery operations with the launch of Prime Now one-hour deliveries in London and plans for other British cities later this year.
The e-commerce giant announced Prime Now which offers members of the Prime scheme one-hour delivery on over ten thousand items through a mobile app. The service launched today in selected London postcodes and is expected to reach all of London and additional UK cities by the end of the year.
Prime Now customers can choose delivery within one hour of ordering for £6.99, or free delivery within a choice of two-hour, same-day delivery slots between 8am and midnight, seven days a week.
Amazon UK said the service is powered by its growing network of fulfilment centres that utilise high-end technology to speed up order delivery times for customers, and get orders delivered to customers’ doors in an hour or less. The company currently has eight regional fulfilment centres and 13 local delivery stations across the UK.
The service is made available through Amazon Logistics, Amazon’s technology and logistics platform that empowers independent local, regional and national delivery companies across the UK to deliver Amazon parcels to customers seven days a week. Amazon Logistics’ delivery station in East London will serve as the first hub for delivery of Prime Now orders.
“Millions of customers across London can use the Prime Now app today and discover over ten thousand items for one-hour delivery, or select a free two-hour, same-day delivery slot,” said Christopher North, Managing Director of Amazon UK. “This is just the beginning. London is our first Prime Now city in the UK and we are already working on making Prime Now available in more postcodes in London and beyond.”
Amazon explained that all Prime members can immediately download the Prime Now app to find eligible delivery postcodes and request notification when the service is available in their area. There are ‘millions’ of Amazon Prime members in the UK and ‘tens of millions’ worldwide, according to the company.
In the USA, Prime Now is currently available in Atlanta, Austin, Baltimore, Brooklyn, Dallas, Manhattan and Miami, and is gradually introducing deliveries from local stores in addition to orders directly from Amazon.
