Amazon cranks up 30-minute delivery in major U.S. cities

May 12, 2026

Amazon customers in dozens of U.S. cities will be able to get orders delivered in 30 minutes or less as the Amazon Now service expands from a limited pilot phase to a wide-scale commercial offering, the company announced on Tuesday.

Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) last year began testing ultra-fast delivery in parts of Seattle and Philadelphia and currently offers it in nine countries, including the United Arab Emirates. The service essentially competes with DoorDash, Instacart and Uber Eats, which have expanded beyond food delivery into merchandise.

Amazon Now, which provides thousands of fresh grocery, personal care products, electronics and household items, is now widely available in Atlanta, Dallas-Fort Worth, Philadelphia and Seattle, and is rapidly expanding in dozens more cities such as Austin, Texas; Houston; Minneapolis; Orlando, Florida; Phoenix; Denver and Oklahoma City. The company said it plans to expand the service to tens of millions of shoppers in these and other cities by the end of the year.

Ultra-fast delivery is the latest move to increase delivery speed and keep customers buying on Amazon’s marketplace by offering extreme convenience. Amazon also offers one-hour and three-hour delivery on more than 90,000 products and same-day delivery on millions of items. Amazon has also promised to significantly scale up its Prime Air drone delivery service, which will offer a much wider selection than Amazon Now. Prime Air delivery in under 60 minutes is available in nine U.S. locations so far.

Amazon’s success training consumers to expect same-day delivery, and now near-instant delivery, has proved costly to other retailers and delivery companies that try to match its services. Amazon is raising the delivery bar again when competitors like Walmart and Target are dealing with tariff pressure, higher fuel costs and thinner margins, said Joshua Ketter, global CEO of marketplace seller Spreetail, in an email.

Some retailers are trying to buck the trend by offering deferred delivery service for customers that aren’t in a rush. In fact, a McKinsey survey last year found that 90% of customers are willing to wait at least two to three days for their deliveries if the shipping is free.

Amazon Now operates out of strategically located, urban micro-fulfillment centers, where on-demand workers will pick up packaged orders. The centers position essential products close to neighborhoods and work districts, utilizing advanced inventory systems that optimize product selection based on hyperlocal demand to maximize efficiency and speed. They also reduce the distance delivery associates need to travel and enable faster delivery times.

Where Amazon Now is available, customers will see a “30-Minute Delivery” option in the banner on the Amazon app or homepage, and see Amazon Now offers as they search and shop. Prime members pay a discounted delivery fee of $3.99 per order, while customers without a Prime membership pay $13.99. An additional small order fee of $1.99 for Prime members and $3.99 for customers without a Prime membership applies to orders below $15.

In most areas where it’s available, Amazon Now serves customers 24 hours a day.

Last year, more than 13 billion items worldwide were delivered to Prime Members the same day or next day. In the U.S., Prime members received over eight billion items the same or next day, an increase of more than 30% from 2024, with groceries and everyday essentials making up half the total of items, according to the retailer.

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Write to Eric Kulisch at ekulisch@freightwaves.com.