Amazon is accelerating its push towards an instant delivery strategy, launching a one-hour delivery service in several U.S. cities, marking a further shift in e-commerce competition towards logistics efficiency.
Instant Delivery Capability Upgrades
Amazon announced that its one-hour delivery service now covers major cities, including Los Angeles and Chicago, and has expanded to over 90,000 products. The three-hour delivery covers more than 2,000 towns.
This service relies on the existing same-day delivery network, establishing dedicated sorting lanes and optimizing processes at distribution centers to shorten fulfillment time.
Competition With Walmart Intensifies
This move is seen as a direct response to Walmart's integration of e-commerce and offline models. In recent years, Walmart has reinforced its same-day and instant delivery capabilities through its store network, putting pressure on Amazon.
Amazon, on the other hand, reinforces its delivery advantages in high-frequency consumption scenarios through its warehouse network and technology-driven logistics system.
Business Model and User Segmentation
Ultra-fast delivery requires an additional fee, with Prime members paying $9.99 (one hour) and $4.99 (three hours), while non-member fees are higher. This pricing strategy reflects the company's positioning of instant delivery as a high-value-added service to enhance user lifetime value.
Industry Trends
As consumer demands for delivery timeliness increase, e-commerce competition is shifting from "product abundance" to "fulfillment speed." Analysts point out that instant delivery capability will become one of the key variables determining platform competitiveness.
