Amazon has finally launched its grocery service in the UK, in a major challenge to supermarkets.
Expected to go head to head with the likes of Tesco, Asda and Sainsbury’s, Amazon Fresh has already been avaialable in several cities in the US.
The internet retailer, which already sells tinned and packaged groceries, will offer fruit, vegetables and meat from today as part of its Amazon Fresh service.
Amazon Fresh will be available to customers who pay the £79 annual subscription for Amazon Prime, which offers speedy deliveries and an online TV service.
The service will now be available to users of its Prime membership plan in central and east London, the first time the service has been offered outside the US.
Customers will be able to order from a catalog of about 130,000 items, including those of major high street brands as well as independent local producers. Same-day delivery will be available, allowing shoppers to order at lunchtime for a delivery as soon as 5 p.m. the same evening.
“We are launching with a comprehensive offer in a limited area and will take our time to hone and improve our service based on our learnings and feedback from our customers,” said Ajay Kavan, vice president of Amazon Fresh. “We will be very methodical and considered in how we roll this service out further in the U.K.”
After an initial 30-day free trial, the service will cost about £7 per month on top of the subscription fee to Amazon’s Prime service, currently £79 per year. No additional charge is incurred for orders over £40, but under that threshold shoppers will pay about £4 for delivery.
Jens Nielsen, Head of Nordics & UK at NetBooster, a leading independent European agency in digital performance marketing – comments on the launch of Amazon Fresh: “Today’s launch of Amazon Fresh in London marks a monumental turning point for the grocery industry. Not only will the ecommerce giant now pose a greater level of competition for supermarkets, Amazon Fresh will raise the bar even higher for on-demand fulfilment services.
“With traditional grocers already facing heavy competition from large discount supermarkets such as Aldi and Lidl, Amazon Fresh should be a further call to action for grocers to consider their competitiveness in this changing market. In order to compete with digital disruptors, a big part of this should be considering their digital strategy and ensuring that ecommerce is a board level issue.
“By taking a fresh look at their online sales practices and ways of communicating with customers, grocers will be able to drive greater engagement and sales, using digital transformation to remain competitive.”