Continuing on its juggernaut of instant fulfillment of all kinds of stuff from “the everything store,” Amazon today announced Prime Now, a service that will allow Prime members in New York to receive household items like paper towels and laundry soap in as little as an hour via a mobile app.
The app, which is available in iOs and Android versions, give Prime members in select New York neighborhoods free two-hour delivery; the one-hour version costs $7.99 per order. The company’s much-touted facility on West 34th St. in Manhattan will serve as the fulfillment hub.
Amazon plans to roll out Prime Now in other metro areas in 2015, but would not provide further details. Actual deliveries have already begun in New York, said Amazon spokesperson Kelly Cheeseman.
“Dedicated teams of people working out of our Prime Now hub in midtown Manhattan will deliver orders,” said Cheeseman. “We are taking our operational expertise that we’ve developed at our more than 100 fulfillment centers around the globe and bringing it to New York to fuel this service. Delivery associates will walk, take public transportation, bike or drive to deliver to customers.”
All Prime members can download the app, and will be notified when Prime Now is available in their area. The service is available from 6 a.m. to midnight, seven days a week.
This comes on the heels of news that Amazon was time-trialing bicycle courier firms in Manhattan. It also just announced it is pushing back the cutoff for free shipping by Christmas day from Dec. 17 to Dec. 19.
You can read the entire Prime Now release here.