Amazon makes Fresh grocery delivery a free Prime perk

[Shawn Knight]

What just happened? Amazon is getting serious about its grocery delivery business. On Tuesday, the Seattle-based company eliminated the $14.99 per month fee for its Amazon Fresh grocery delivery service, instead making it a free perk for Amazon Prime subscribers.

Stephenie Landry, VP of Grocery Delivery for Amazon, said grocery delivery is one of the fastest growing businesses at Amazon, adding that they think this will be one of the most-loved Prime benefits.

In addition to doing away with the monthly fee, Amazon has also boosted delivery speed with one- and two-hour options in most cities that offer Amazon Fresh.

Due to the expected popularity of the service, Amazon said Prime members that live in one of more than 2,000 cities and towns where grocery delivery is available will need to request an invitation to shop Amazon Fresh or Whole Foods Market delivery. Those who currently use grocery delivery can continue to enjoy the service as usual.

Amazon’s latest move is no doubt in response to increased competition in the grocery delivery space.

Last month, Walmart announced it would be expanding its Delivery Unlimited grocery delivery membership to 1,400 stores this fall. Walmart’s service carries a monthly fee of $12.95 (or $98 for a year) and affords unlimited Walmart Grocery Delivery orders. Unlike some of its rivals, Walmart doesn’t impose an upcharge on the individual cost of items – you’ll pay the same price as you would in-store.

Masthead credit: Amazon Fresh by Andriy Blokhin

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https://www.techspot.com/news/82540-amazon-makes-grocery-delivery-free-prime-perk.html

 

[ShagnWagn]

Do people seriously trust some dude at a warehouse to not pick them rotten fruits/vegetables? Or especially produce is a certain texture/maturity. Not to mention produce that is already expired or near expiration? Then there is the huge hassle of returning rotten/expired produce back to them. Sounds like a huge headache to me. Have any of you tried this?

 

[mctommy]

Do people seriously trust some dude at a warehouse to not pick them rotten fruits/vegetables? Or especially produce is a certain texture/maturity. Not to mention produce that is already expired or near expiration? Then there is the huge hassle of returning rotten/expired produce back to them. Sounds like a huge headache to me. Have any of you tried this?

Never tried it. I'm the same boat at you, I want to make sure I get the fruits and vegetable that is still fresh. I do have a friend who swears by it. She lives in the city with no car and never complained about the freshness of the produce.

 

[kevbev89]

Do people seriously trust some dude at a warehouse to not pick them rotten fruits/vegetables? Or especially produce is a certain texture/maturity. Not to mention produce that is already expired or near expiration? Then there is the huge hassle of returning rotten/expired produce back to them. Sounds like a huge headache to me. Have any of you tried this?

I'll let you know. I'm actually really inclined to use this service if it is free. Fighting traffic home, parking, squeezing past people, squeezing in line, going home, and FINALLY start cooking has always been quite a battle post-work. I think in this day and age people are more and more inclined on trusting new services to free up more personal time. Hell, the US in general has probably the least amount of vacation days compare to other countries (even China), I would love to spend 45 minutes doing something else other than grocery shopping.

 

[B5S46M]

Do people seriously trust some dude at a warehouse to not pick them rotten fruits/vegetables? Or especially produce is a certain texture/maturity. Not to mention produce that is already expired or near expiration? Then there is the huge hassle of returning rotten/expired produce back to them. Sounds like a huge headache to me. Have any of you tried this?

Never tried it, but I'd going to say that someone who picks fruits and vegetables for a job, probably can pick them better than the average shopper. And I would also imagine that done correctly, FIFO, would reduce spoilage. Now if you want some extra ripe bananas for your banana bread you all of a sudden want to make, well then maybe go pick them yourself.

BTW, I've returned several rotten strawberries to Costco, as well as stopped buying them there. Fool me once... Apparently everyone else stopped also because they don't pull them out of the refrigerated section anymore, only to put them back again for the next day. Did this solve the problem? I can't say because I still refuse to buy strawberries there. If Amazon is smart, they will learn quickly how to pick produce properly.

 

[treetops]

I tried the Walmart free pickup when I had a bad cold. I didn't go nuts on produce, racked up $160 worth of stuff. They notify you of anything that is out of stock, they replace it automatically and then you can refuse or accept it. They loaded everything into my car in like under a few minutes, I accepted the 4 or so replacement items and poof I was gone. They have all the cold stuff in one spot, it's well organized.

In old some movies a grocery boy would show up to peoples house with a bag of groceries. Milk was delivered daily to your front door. Now your getting that service for free. Hell you could do the pickup, only order non parishables then go in and get your own stuff.

 

[Ryan Barrett]

My question is, is this a service where you're expected to tip because they pay less or do the shoppers actually make a decent wage. I tip well when I'm using services where it's universally accepted (waiters, bartenders, hotels) but hate paying for things I shouldn't be expected to. For those of you already using the service, do you tip and if so, how much? I hate having to guess.