Amazon said on Tuesday it will be starting one-hour and three-hour delivery services, in parts of the U.S. The company said three-hour delivery is available in about 2,000 cities and towns in the U.S., while one-hour delivery is available in hundreds of those areas.
“Our customers are busier than ever and are looking for new ways to save time while keeping their households running. We saw an opportunity to use our unique operational expertise and delivery network to help make customers’ lives a little easier while unlocking even more value for Prime members,” Udit Madan, senior vice president of Worldwide Operations at Amazon, said in a statement.
Amazon said it expects to bring the service, which started via small-scale tests late last year, to more areas of the country in the coming months. “We’re excited to say that two decades after Prime launched, we’re still innovating to make delivery even faster, while maintaining the same everyday low prices and vast selection Amazon is known for,” Madan said.
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More than 90,000 products are eligible for delivery in three hours or less. Amazon also added a storefront shopping page in areas where the options are available, and shoppers will be able to filter search results for products that can be delivered in one hour or three hours. Users can check ultrafast delivery options on Amazon’s getitfast site.
Amazon Prime subscribers will be charged $9.99 for one-hour deliveries and $4.99 for three-hour deliveries. Users who do not have a Prime subscription will have to pay $19.99 for one-hour deliveries and $14.99 for three-hour deliveries.
Amazon said it is using its existing, same-day fulfillment sites for the new delivery options.
Amazon first introduced the idea of fast shipping when it launched free, two-day delivery alongside its Prime loyalty program in 2005. By 2019, it made one-day shipping the standard, and in the years since, it has poured money and resources into expanding same-day delivery.
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In 2021, Amazon shut down its standalone Prime Now fast delivery service. In 2024, the company discontinued a service that promised speedy delivery from mall and brick-and-mortar retailers.
More recently, Amazon has been testing 30-minute deliveries of household essentials and fresh groceries with a program called Amazon Now. The service is being piloted in Seattle, Washington, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, along with international markets like the United Arab Emirates, India, Brazil and Mexico.