Amazon's one-day grocery delivery in 1000-plus US cities reveals unbelievable shopping pattern

In a big setback for Walmart, e-commerce giant Amazon has expanded its free same-day delivery service for fresh groceries to more than 1,000 cities and towns across the US. The company announced the update in a blog post and said it plans to reach more than 2,300 by the end of the year.

Amazon said the customers can now order produce, dairy, meat, seafood, baked goods, and frozen foods alongside millions of other products like electronics, fashion, and household essentials. The same-day grocery delivery service complements Amazon’s existing grocery delivery options, including Amazon Fresh and Whole Foods Market, both online and in stores. It is investing $4 billion to expand same-day and next-day delivery in rural areas.

Amazon Worldwide Amazon Stores CEO Doug Herrington stated: “We’re continuously innovating to make grocery shopping simpler, faster and more affordable for our customers, especially Prime members.”


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Grocery purchases on Amazon have doubled

According to a report in Sherwood, new data shared by Consumer Intelligence Research Partners (CIRP) reveals that 37% of US Amazon customers purchased traditional grocery store items — perishable and nonperishable — in their latest order. That’s up 7 percentage points from five years ago and is more than double what it was a decade ago, according to the firm’s surveys. The share of US Amazon customers who included grocery items in their latest order has risen to nearly 40%, the report says.

Though only a small percentage of those grocery items likely included perishables — the share of grocery shoppers on Amazon who used Amazon Fresh as a delivery method was just 3% — any headway into the grocery category is major.

“It’s not easy to persuade US consumers to change grocery buying habits, much less to persuade them to buy that stuff online and get it delivered, so that’s quite an achievement,” CIRP partner and cofounder Michael Levin told Sherwood News.

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Amazon's same day grocery delivery details

Amazon's same day grocery delivery system is seen as a big move, integrating perishable items into its fast, efficient logistics network. The company aims to make grocery shopping simpler and more affordable for US customers. While prime members get free Same-Day Delivery on orders over $25 in most cities, smaller orders will cost $2.99. Non-Prime customers can access the service for $12.99 per order.

Previously, Amazon tested the service in cities including Phoenix, AZ, Orlando, FL and Kanas City, MO. Customers reacted enthusiastically, with first-time grocery buyers using Same-Day Delivery nearly twice as often as those who didn’t purchase fresh food. Top-selling items included strawberries, bananas, Honeycrisp apples, limes, and avocados—at times, strawberries even surpassed AirPods in sales across certain regions.

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Amazon is now rolling out same-day grocery delivery service in other cities like Raleigh, NC, Milwaukee, WI, Tampa, FL, and Columbus, OH. Doug Herrington, CEO of Worldwide Amazon Stores, said “We’re continuously innovating to make grocery shopping simpler, faster, and more affordable for our customers, especially Prime members. By introducing fresh groceries into our Same-Day Delivery service, we’re creating a quick and easy experience for customers. They can order milk alongside electronics; oranges, apples, and potatoes with a mystery novel; and frozen pizza at the same time as tools for their next home improvement project—and check out with one cart and have everything delivered to their doorstep within hours.”

Amazon’s latest announcement will only send its portion of the grocery store market up. “Since the early days of supermarkets, premium perimeter offerings bring in customers who then shop the center-of-the-store,” the CIRP report reads, noting that Amazon has taken the opposite approach with perishables. “Amazon is gaining center-of-the-store market share to tee up its ultimate perimeter business.”

Amazon explained that it relies on a specialized, temperature-controlled fulfillment network to keep perishable groceries fresh during delivery. Before leaving the warehouse, every item undergoes a six-step quality inspection. Temperature-sensitive products are then packed in insulated, recyclable bags—similar to the ones used for Amazon Fresh and Whole Foods Market.