Amazon rolls out its new 30-minute delivery option in a number of cities across the US
Prime not quite quick enough for you? Amazon is rolling out its ultra-fast delivery service, Amazon Now, in dozens of cities in the US, promising deliveries of groceries and "household essentials" in 30 minutes or less.
Amazon Now soft-launched in Seattle and Philadelphia at the end of 2025, before landing across the pond in London at the start of this year. Amazon says the service is also now widely available in Atlanta and Dallas-Fort Worth, and will "rapidly expand" into Austin, Houston, Minneapolis, Orlando, Phoenix, Denver, Oklahoma City and more throughout the rest of 2026.
If Amazon Now is available in your area you'll see a "30-Minute Delivery" option in the Amazon app or on the homepage when you're in a browser. Amazon Now offers will also be highlighted when you're browsing products. You can search by category, and as well as groceries and basic household items such as eggs, diary and laundry detergent, you can also order select electronics on the service, which Amazon says operates 24 hours a day in most places.
Speedy deliveries don't come for free, even if you're a Prime member. Those customers will pay $4 per order, which is significantly less than the $14 Amazon charges non-members. If your order costs less than $15, you'll pay a small order fee of $2 if you're signed up to Prime, or $4 if not.
Amazon Now is billed as the fastest of the delivery options now available to Amazon customers, which include one-hour drone deliveries in nine US locations, one-hour and three-hour deliveries on a wide range of items, and same-day deliveries in more than 10,000 cities and towns across the US.
Amazon says its ultra-fast delivery service relies on a network of smaller fulfilment locations placed "strategically" close to where customers live and work. This way, it can honor the 30-minute promise while reducing the distances its delivery partners need to travel in a short space of time.
Amazon faces competition from the likes of Walmart, which operates a growing drone delivery program in partnership with Wing. Earlier this year, Wing expanded its automated delivery drone service to the San Francisco Bay Area, where it offers a similarly rapid turnaround on orders.