Amazon shutting down Prime Now delivery app
Amazon’s super-speedy Prime Now delivery service is getting a new digital home at Amazon.
Prime Now, which launched in 2014 as an exclusive benefit for Amazon Prime members, provides delivery on tens of thousands of goods in two hours or less in select cities in the U.S., U.K., Canada and at least seven other countries. In what Amazon says is a move to make the Prime Now experience more seamless for customers, the e-tail giant plans to retire the standalone Prime Now app and website by the end of this year, moving the two-hour delivery offer onto the main Amazon app and site.
In this instance, Amazon is following in the footsteps of its chief rival Walmart, which merged its separate grocery app with its flagship app in March 2020. The discounter has offered its Prime-like Walmart+ membership service within the regular Walmart app and site since its September 2020 launch.
While the experience may vary slightly by country, customers in the U.S. can shop Amazon Fresh or Whole Foods Market by searching those stores on the Amazon site or app. Prime Now customers will be able to shop, track orders, and contact customer service without leaving the Amazon site or app.
Integrated Prime Now shopping features will include the ability to add items to an order until preparations begin, quick access to customer favorites under past purchases, recommendations, and items trending in a customer’s area. In the U.S, customers will be able to add items from their Amazon Alexa voice assistant shopping list to their Amazon Fresh or Whole Foods Market shopping cart.
In India, Japan, and Singapore, the company has already moved the Prime Now experience onto Amazon and retired the Prime Now app and website. In the U.S., Amazon began making two-hour delivery from Amazon Fresh and Whole Foods Market available on Amazon in 2019. Globally, the company will move its third-party partners and local stores to the Amazon shopping experience before the Prime Now app and website are retired later this year.
“We've come a long way since 2014, and I'm so grateful to the teams who have continued to innovate on behalf of our customers to create a shopping experience that isn't just convenient—it's magic,” Stephanie Landry, VP of grocery, Amazon, said in a corporate blog post.