Amazon Prime, now with free, same-day deliveries
This article, Amazon Prime, now with free, same-day deliveries, originally appeared on CNET.com.
Here come the Amazon boxes. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
Prime by bedtime.
That's a phrase millions of Amazon Prime members may start reciting, thanks to the online retailer adding free, same-day deliveries to the $99-a-year membership program.
For now, Amazon's new service, unveiled Thursday, will be a stripped-down version of Prime's current, free two-day deliveries. Over 1 million items will be available for free, same-day shipments -- a fraction of the 20 million available in the US for two-day deliveries. Orders must total more than $35 to qualify. The purchase must also be made before noon, or it will arrive the next day. The service will initially be available in 14 metro areas across the US.
Even with those limitations, the new service marks a big step forward for Prime pulling off a long-sought goal in the retail industry of offering cheap (or free) same-day deliveries. Google and Walmart are two other firms racing to create same-day networks. Prime members in a handful of cities were already able to order same-day deliveries, but had to pay $5.99 an order. (That fee will still kick in for items not listed for free, same-day service. -- or if the total order is less than $35.)
An Amazon fulfillment center in Tracy, Calif. Amazon officially opened the 1.2 million-square-foot facility in January. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
Amazon was able to offer the new service thanks to its huge investment over the years in its network of warehouse-and-delivery hubs that it calls fulfillment centers, Chris Rupp, vice president of Amazon Prime, said in an interview.
"We can get items closer to customers, get more items in stock and be able to deliver as quickly as possible," she said of the delivery network.
The new service may help Amazon retain and expand its tens of millions of Prime customers -- who pay $99 a year for free shipping, a streaming video library and cloud storage -- during a time when the e-commerce giant is staring down plenty of new competition. Walmart will test out a $50-a-year unlimited shipping service, eBay plans to pilot a buyer loyalty program in Germany, and startup Jet.com, which hasn't officially launched, is looking to offer a member-focused online marketplace. Also, Google has been developing its Express shipping service and Uber is dabbling in deliveries. Startups including Instacart and Postmates are also getting in the mix.
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While none of those new efforts comes close to Amazon's size or reach, Amazon appears to be working hard to stay ahead of the competition and speed up its deliveries to make itself more desirable to consumers. Prime is an especially critical part of Amazon's business, since Prime users tend to spend considerably more with Amazon than non-Prime members, so the retailer is keenly focused on building up Prime's services.
The new same-day shipping for Prime members expands on two smaller rapid-delivery programs within Amazon. The company offers grocery deliveries around New York City, Seattle, Philadelphia and parts of California under the brand Amazon Fresh. In December, Amazon started Prime Now, a one-hour delivery service for tens of thousands of items that it's quickly expanded to Atlanta, Austin, Baltimore, Brooklyn, Dallas, Manhattan and Miami. Both services are available only to Prime customers, with Fresh requiring a special $299 annual Prime Fresh membership.
We believe this to be a real life-changer.
Chris Rupp, Amazon Prime vice president
Amazon is also trying to develop delivery drones, but so far has been slowed as government officials weigh how to regulate such a service.
The free, same-day service is available seven days a week in Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Dallas, Indianapolis, the Los Angeles metro area, New York, Philadelphia, Phoenix, the San Francisco Bay area, Seattle and Washington, DC, as well as San Diego and Tampa Bay, which previously didn't have the option for same-day deliveries through Amazon.
Customers can find which ZIP codes are included in the new service at Amazon.com/sameday. They can find which items are eligible by looking for a free, same-day logo attached to products or by clicking on a new same-day filter in the Amazon.com search bar.
Amazon's automated attendants (pictures)
In a massive 1.2 million square foot warehouse in Tracy, Calif., more than 3,000 robots are helping Amazon keep up with customer's orders.
The Kiva robots, pictured here, are square, squat utilitarian machines. They're able to lift as much as 750 pounds, allowing them to bring shelves to the employees packaging orders.
There are now more than 15,000 Kiva robots in use at Amazon fulfillment centers in the United States. They have increased the capacity of the warehouse space, with the centers able to hold 50 percent more inventory using the Kiva system.
The Kiva robots have helped reduce processing times for some orders to mere minutes from several hours before.
Kiva robots travel through the warehouse, find appropriate products and deliver the entire shelf right to the human-staffed order-filling station.
The Kiva robots line up, and when it arrives, the employees -- called "pickers" -- selects the proper items from the shelf. Rather than the employees wandering through a massive warehouse to find an item, the shelf come right to them.
Dave Clark, Amazon's senior VP of worldwide operations and customer service, stands at a picking station alongside robot staffed mobile shelves.
Looking down at one of the 3,000 Kiva robots which swarm through the 1.2 million square foot Amazon fulfillment center in Tracy, Calif.
A look at the center eye on top of the Kiva robot, which aligns itself with the shelf, lifts it up, and carries the product-filled shelf to the order-filling "Picker."
The Kiva robots move quickly and silently through the warehouse, efficiently helping to fill orders.
This Tracy, Calif., fulfillment center also houses some Amazon Fresh grocery delivery operations, but that system has not been robotized, yet.
A look down the aisles of the 1.2 million square foot fulfillment centers. A seemingly endless maze, with Kiva robots patiently negotiating one another's paths.
Moving along a zipping conveyor belt, boxes ready for delivery are separated by destination, and loaded on to trucks for.
A Kiva robot lifts a shelf of goods just off the ground and moves through the warehouse to one of the order filling "picking stations."
Boxes rattle along conveyor belts, up ramps and down chutes on the path to order fulfillment. The loud drone of machinery fills the air, filling orders 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Amazon says it plans to hire more than 80,000 seasonal workers this holiday season.
Same-day delivery pricing for non-Prime customers hasn't changed, and starts at $9.98 per order.
After studying customer behaviors, Rupp said, Amazon sought to add products to the same-day delivery service that consumers tended to need more urgently, including HDMI cables, batteries, water filters, baby wipes, deodorant and last-minute travel items such as sunscreen and towels.
"We believe this to be a real life-changer," Rupp said. "Having the ability to get your to-do list done in just a few clicks and have the rest of the day to yourself we think is going to make a big different in customers' lives."
