Introduction
Amazon recently announced that it is shutting down its grocery delivery service, Amazon Fresh, after more than a decade of operation. This news comes as a surprise to many, as Amazon Fresh had become a popular option for grocery delivery in many areas. However, Amazon has decided to focus its efforts on other areas of its business, such as its Prime Now and Whole Foods delivery services. This article will discuss the reasons behind Amazon’s decision to shut down Amazon Fresh and the implications for customers.
Amazon Just Shut Down This Grocery Service for Good
Amazon has officially shut down its Amazon Fresh grocery delivery service, which was launched in 2007. The service allowed customers to order groceries online and have them delivered to their homes. Amazon had been testing the service in select cities for years, but it never gained the traction needed to make it a viable business.
The company announced the news in a statement, saying that it was “focusing on grocery delivery through Whole Foods Market, Amazon Prime Now, and Amazon.com.” Amazon Fresh was available in select cities, including Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and New York. Customers could order groceries online and have them delivered to their homes.
The move is not entirely surprising, as Amazon has been investing heavily in its Whole Foods Market grocery delivery service. The company acquired Whole Foods in 2017 and has since been expanding its grocery delivery capabilities. Amazon has also been investing in its Prime Now service, which offers two-hour delivery of groceries and other items.
The closure of Amazon Fresh is a sign that the company is focusing on its more successful grocery delivery services. Amazon is now the largest online grocery retailer in the US, and its focus on Whole Foods and Prime Now will likely help it maintain its lead in the market.
In 2014, Amazon launched Pantry (initially often known as “Prime Pantry”), a service for its Prime members that bought not solely groceries but in addition different kitchen and family necessities that the corporate began charging $5 per-month for in 2018. Final week, the corporate shut down the service for good, folding all of its Amazon Pantry choices into the bigger Amazon retailer.
“As a part of our dedication to delivering the absolute best buyer expertise, we now have determined to switch Amazon Pantry choice to the principle Amazon.com retailer so clients can get on a regular basis family merchandise quicker, with out an additional subscription or buy requirement,” an organization spokesperson famous in an electronic mail to Bloomberg Information. (For extra on what meals to truly purchase, be certain that to take a look at the 7 Healthiest Meals to Eat Proper Now.)
Pantry was launched as a method to goal clients’ kitchens and supply a method for Amazon to compete with native grocery shops extra immediately. For a month-to-month payment, Pantry clients may get limitless necessities—from meals to cleansing provides—assuming that their payments exceeded $40 per 30 days. (If clients did not attain that determine, they had been charged a $7.99 payment.) The retail large’s advertising pitch for the service was: “Skip the journey to the grocery retailer and allow us to do the heavy lifting.”
Quick ahead to 2021, and Amazon’s monumental footprint within the meals and grocery world seems markedly completely different. The corporate acquired Complete Meals in 2017 and as we speak affords its Contemporary and Complete Meals supply providers—each of which have soared because the onset of lockdowns early final yr. Given the success of these efforts—and the truth that Amazon is rolling out its personal Amazon Go grocery shops—it is robust to say what number of Amazon customers will actually miss Pantry.
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