Amazon Expands Prime to Include Same-Day Perishable Delivery

Amazon extends its same-day delivery service to include perishable groceries like milk and fresh produce and meat products to challenge Walmart+ and Instacart. Prime members can access this service for free when they spend more than $25 but non-members must pay $12.99 for each order.

The service will expand to reach 2,300 U.S. cities before the end of the year. Amazon Fresh and Whole Foods subscribers needed to pay extra for same-day grocery delivery before this change. The new service merges perishable items with Amazon's standard same-day delivery network to serve customers who make occasional purchases which Instacart focuses on.

The analysts predict this move will increase Prime membership while forcing Uber Eats and DoorDash to face increased competition. The stock price of Amazon increased by 1% during Wednesday while Instacart declined by more than 10% and Walmart decreased by 2%.

Amazon invested $4 billion to deliver rapid services to rural areas after this announcement. Walmart announced plans to deliver packages within three hours to 95% of the United States population.

According to Worldwide Amazon Stores CEO Doug Herrington grocery shopping now offers the same speed and convenience as buying electronics. The analysts warn that maintaining consistent quality and timely delivery will be essential for sustaining market leadership in the competitive grocery delivery sector.