That's a phrase millions of Amazon Prime members may start saying, thanks to the online retailer adding free same-day deliveries to the $99-a-year membership program.
For now, the 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 need to be more than $35 and purchased before noon, or will arrive the next day instead. Also, the service will be available for now in 14 metro areas (encompassing 500 cities and towns) 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 need to pay $5.99 an order (that fee will still kick in for items not listed for free same-day service).
Amazon was able to offer the new service thanks to its huge investment over the years in its network of warehouse-and-delivery hubs 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 maintain and grow 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 new 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.
While none of those new efforts come 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 for consumers. Prime is an especially critical part of Amazon's business, since Prime users tend to spend considerably more with Amazon than others, 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's its 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.
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