Amazon adds restaurant deliveries to Prime Now in London
Deliveroo and UberEats have some new competition.
As if there weren't enough ways to order takeout in London, Amazon has jumped in with a Deliveroo-style competitor. If you live in the English capital and subscribe to Prime, you'll soon see a postcode option inside the Prime Now app. Chuck it in and -- provided you're in a supported neighbourhood -- you'll get a list of cafes and restaurants that are available for delivery. Amazon promises to complete each order in under an hour; in the US, the average drop-off takes less than 45 minutes, it claims.
Amazon has over 100 restaurants signed up for its new service, however most are small or independent establishments. Scanning down the list, there's no Wagamama, Pizza Express or Gourmet Burger Kitchen. A few businesses do stand out, however, such as Strada, Tossed and Velo. As for delivery coverage, well, you'll need to be in one of the following postcodes: E1, E2, E3, E5, E8, E9, N1, N16, EC1, EC2, EC3, EC4, SW1, SW3, W1, SW3, W1, WC1, WC2, SE1, SE11. Unsurprisingly, Amazon says it has "plans to expand further," although it's unclear exactly when and where that will happen.
Amazon already offers a brain-melting number of food-related services. There's Prime Now for basic one-hour deliveries, Amazon Pantry for "everyday essentials" and Amazon Fresh for, you guessed it, fresh groceries. All of these are designed to compete with traditional supermarkets, however, rather than takeaway couriers such as Just Eat and Hungryhouse. Today's launch is different, as it provides direct competition for Deliveroo and UberEats. Those two have come under fire recently for their courier pay-outs -- Amazon will be hoping to avoid such negative press, earning the support of drivers, cyclists and customers in the process.
