Amazon is expanding its ultra-fast delivery services in the UK, bringing 30-minute or less deliveries to Manchester and Birmingham later this year. The company also announced it will extend same-day delivery to Ipswich and Coventry, and launch a fresh grocery service for same-day deliveries in London.
The fresh grocery service, initially available in parts of central and east London, will allow shoppers to add items such as fruit, vegetables, meat, poultry, seafood, dairy, bread, eggs and frozen foods to the same basket as other groceries and non-food items. Amazon plans to expand the service to additional postcodes and areas across the country in the coming months.
John Boumphrey, Amazon's UK country manager, said the new services would enable the company to 'scale more broadly and faster' than its standalone stores, which it closed last year. Five of the 19 former Amazon Fresh stores are being converted into Whole Foods outlets. Boumphrey noted that 'not everything we do works but we are always going to learn from it.'
The same-day grocery service will be free for Amazon Prime members on orders over £20, while non-members will pay a £5.99 delivery fee regardless of basket size. Amazon, which reported UK sales of about £32bn last year, has committed to investing £40bn in the UK over three years from 2025.
The company is increasing its use of robotics and AI in warehouses to enable faster deliveries, including machines guided by AI-powered voice controls. Amazon's Darlington fulfilment centre has also begun trialling drone flights as part of its Prime Air delivery service. Boumphrey emphasised that AI and robots are 'not taking jobs but changing the nature of work,' and called for reforms to prepare young people for the workforce.
