Seven years after its launch, Amazon plans to discontinue the Prime Now app for fast delivery of grocery and other goods, folding it into its main Amazon app and website by the end of 2021, the company said today.
Amazon said the same level of same-day delivery service, in many cases two hours, will continue for Prime members, including ordering from Whole Foods and Amazon Fresh, which began two years ago.
Stephenie Landry, vice president of grocery at Amazon, said in a blog post announcing the change that Prime Now went from a concept code named “Houdini” to execution in 111 days, starting as a six-page document she drafted outlining the vision.
“To make this (fast delivery) experience even more seamless for customers, we are moving (it) from a separate Prime Now app onto the Amazon app and website so customers can shop all Amazon has to offer from one convenient location,” Landry said. “Whether it’s two-hour delivery from Amazon Fresh, Whole Foods Market, or one of our local stores like Bartell’s in Seattle, Morrisons in Leeds, or Monoprix in Paris, Prime members will find what they need alongside the millions of items available on Amazon.”
Landry said Amazon had already transitioned the service from Prime Now to the main app in other markets, including India, Japan and Singapore.
She added Amazon’s third-party partners and local stores will transition over to Amazon.com and the main Amazon app through the rest of 2021. “Feedback from customers who have shopped two-hour delivery on Amazon has been overwhelmingly positive, and it’s a natural next step to simplify the ultrafast delivery experience globally,” she said.
Amazon is looming larger in the rearview mirror of Walmart, both overall and in the grocery space, as executives in Bentonville, AR recently expressed anxiety about its slipping position relative to major competitors, according to leaked documents obtained by Recode.