AmazonFresh makes East Coast debut in Brooklyn today
Fresh already operates in Seattle, Southern California communities from Los Angeles to Orange County to San Diego, and the Bay Area in Northern California.
The New York version of Fresh will be available initially in Park Slope, a well-to-do, family-friendly neighbourhood. The company said it plans to expand to other Brooklyn neighbourhoods “soon.”
Fresh will be available only to members of Amazon’s $99-a-year Prime service, which offers two-day shipping at no extra charge. Those customers won’t have to pay any additional membership fees through the end of the year.
Starting in January, New York’s Fresh customers will have to pay $299 a year to use the service, the same price Amazon charges in its California markets. Amazon has never charged its Seattle customers a membership fee in the seven years it has offered the service here.
The company hasn’t explained the different pricing except to say that it continues to experiment with the service to find the best business model.
In New York, Fresh customers must place orders of at least $35, for which they will get free delivery. That’s different from Fresh in California, where customers can place orders below $35, for which they must pay a $7.99 delivery fee.
The company said that customers who place grocery orders by 10 a.m. will have them by dinner, and orders placed by 10 p.m. will be delivered by breakfast.
Fresh expansion isn’t just about putting groceries in more customers’ pantries. Amazon is also looking for ways to speed up delivery of all the products it sells.
That’s why Fresh, in Brooklyn as well as in the other markets in which it operates, will also offer more than 500,000 items, including nongrocery products such as toys, electronics and household goods.
New York is one of a handful of markets with entrenched grocery-delivery rivals. Both FreshDirect and Peapod operate there, as well as some local grocers.
Amazon wouldn’t say why it’s only offering Fresh in Brooklyn and declined to say if it will bring the service to New York’s other boroughs. A Fresh spokeswoman would only say that Amazon “will continue being thoughtful and methodical in our expansion.”
Source: seattletimes.com