Amazon just made fresh groceries available for same-day delivery in over 2,300 US cities, marking a massive acceleration in the company's push to dominate quick-commerce. The expansion comes as perishable grocery sales have exploded 30 times since January, with fresh items now claiming nine of the top ten spots for fast delivery on the platform.
Amazon just dropped a logistics bombshell that's reshaping America's grocery landscape. The e-commerce giant announced Wednesday that customers in over 2,300 cities and towns can now get fresh groceries delivered the same day they order them - more than doubling its August footprint of 1,000 cities.
The numbers tell the story of Amazon's grocery ambitions coming to life. Perishable sales have grown 30 times since January, according to Amazon's official announcement. Fresh groceries now make up nine of the top ten most-ordered items for fast delivery, with bananas leading the charge alongside Haas avocados and strawberries.
This isn't just expansion - it's warfare. When Amazon first launched perishable same-day delivery in August, industry watchers immediately saw it as a direct assault on Instacart and Walmart+ in the quick-commerce space. Now with 2,300 cities covered, Amazon's basically drawn a line in the sand across most of America.
The logistics behind this rollout are staggering. Amazon says it's built out a "specialized temperature-controlled fulfillment network" that puts orders through a six-point quality check before delivery in insulated bags. That's the kind of infrastructure investment that takes years to build and signals Amazon's long-term commitment to owning grocery delivery.
Customer behavior is shifting fast. People who add fresh groceries to their same-day orders shop about twice as often as those who don't - a metric that should have Target and traditional grocers seriously worried. Amazon's also expanded its perishable selection by over 30% since August, pulling in thousands of items from Whole Foods Market.
