Amazon expands ‘faster’ same-day delivery in four major cities

Amazon Prime delivery is now available in as little as five hours in more neighborhoods in Chicago, as well as in three entirely new metro areas.

Amazon is rolling out its “faster same-day” delivery service to members of its Prime paid membership program in Miami, Minneapolis, and Atlanta. The e-tail giant is also expanding the range of the expedited service in Chicago, where it began offering faster same-day delivery in August 2021.

The company introduced the service in 2020, in Philadelphia, Phoenix, Orlando, and Dallas; followed by the addition of Nashville and Washington, D.C. Faster same-day delivery gives Amazon customers the option to order certain items for rapid delivery, in as fast as five hours.

Prime members in eligible areas are able to order faster same-day delivery from an assortment up to 3 million items across 12 categories, including baby, beauty & health, kitchen & dining, electronics, pet Supplies, and more. Faster same-day delivery orders can be placed throughout the day.

Customers can also place a faster same-day delivery order by midnight for overnight delivery. The service is free to Prime members on qualifying orders over $35. Most deliveries occur within hours after the order is placed:

• Orders made between midnight and 5 a.m. will arrive between 7 a.m. and 11 a.m.
• Orders made between 5 a.m. and 10 a.m. will arrive between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m.
• Orders made between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. will arrive between 2 p.m. and 6 p.m.
• Orders made between 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. will arrive between 5 p.m. and 10 p.m.
• Orders made between 5 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. will arrive overnight between 4 a.m. and 8 a.m.
• Orders made between 9:30 p.m. and midnight will arrive overnight between 7 a.m. and 11 a.m.

The fastest same-day delivery to-date was made in 22 minutes in Dallas, according to Amazon.

According to Amazon, these fast delivery speeds are also environmentally sustainable because products are located closer to customers, reducing the logistical delivery process. The company has been building out infrastructure for its proprietary air cargo service, known as Amazon Air, as it expands faster same-day delivery.

Amazon Air has expanded its presence in the U.S. to more than 40 locations and launched its European air hub in 2020 at Germany’s Leipzig/Halle Airport. In August 2021, Amazon opened a central air hub for U.S. Prime delivery at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport as part of its ongoing effort to speed up deliveries. 

The sortation facility is equipped with robotics technology that helps move and sort packages—including robotic arms and mobile drive units that transport packages across the building—miles of interlinked conveyors, and ergonomic workstations. According to Amazon, the new facility will process millions of packages per week.

“The evolution of our same-day delivery program is driven by our partnership with local communities and made possible by the people who live there,” Amazon said in a corporate blog post announcing the expansion of its faster same-day delivery service.

[Read More: Turn your stores into same-day delivery hubs]