Amazon Prime Pantry service set to take on the supermarkets
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Amazon is taking aim at grocery stores and discounters like Wal-Mart with a grocery service that lets its Prime loyalty club members fill up to a 45-pound box with groceries and get it shipped for a flat rate of $5.99.
The online retailer says the service, called Prime Pantry, will offer users an expanded selection of items that they usually pick up in grocery stores.
It will also offer larger in-bulk groceries usually ordered online - but not fresh food.
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Amazon says the service, called Prime Pantry, will offer users an expanded selection of items that they usually pick up in grocery stores.
HOW IT WORKS
To use the service, customers must have an amazon Prime membership.
Club members fill up to a 45-pound box with groceries and get it shipped for a flat rate of $5.99.
When Prime members shop through Prime Pantry, it shows how much space each item takes up in the grocery box, and how much room is left.
Items are shipped within one to four business days.
Some items now available are single boxes of Cheerios, a six-pack of Bounty paper towels and Coca-Cola fridge packs.
Amazon calls the offerings 'low-priced, everyday essentials in everyday sizes.'
When Prime members shop through Prime Pantry, it shows how much space each item takes up in the grocery box, and how much room is left.
Items are shipped within one to four business days.
The move comes as Amazon has been bulking up services for its Prime membership program, since it increased the annual membership price to $99 from $79 in March to help offset rising shipping costs.
In addition to free two-day shipping, the service includes free access to Amazon Instant Video, a streaming video service that will include some HBO programming beginning in May.
Amazon is also believed to be still pursuing its plan for a drone delivery service
The move is an 'important development in Amazon's aggressive push into consumables,' said Sanford Bernstein analyst Carlos Kirjner said.
The Seattle company has also been testing Prime Fresh, a grocery delivery service, in several cities.
Shares of Amazon, which reports first quarter results after the market closes on Thursday, rose 3.3 percent, or $10.76, to $335.34.
After hitting an all-time high Jan. 22, the stock has retreated about 20 percent.
To make spending our money easier, Amazon has launched a magic wand-style device called Dash that acts as a handheld, personal shopping assistant.
It scans barcodes of items that are running low in cupboards or fridges, for example, or customers use voice commands to add goods to an online shopping list.
Dash (pictured) is a free, black and white wand-like device available to customers of Amazon Fresh in select U.S states. It scans barcodes of items that are running low in cupboards or fridges, or users can use voice commands to order goods. Each scanned or spoken item is then added to their basket on Amazon Fresh
HOW DOES AMAZON DASH WORK?
Dash (pictured right) connects to a smartphone or laptop via Bluetooth.
It has a built-in barcode scanner and microphone.
Users scan barcodes of items that are running low in cupboards or fridges, or use voice commands to add goods to an online shopping list.
Each scanned or spoken item is automatically added to the customer's basket on Amazon Fresh.
They then checkout using the Amazon Fresh site on a laptop or via an app.
Amazon Dash is a free device but only works with Amazon Fresh, which is only currently available in Southern California, San Francisco and certain neighbourhoods in Seattle.
Dash connects to a smartphone or laptop via Wi-Fi, and each scanned or spoken item is automatically added to the customer's basket on Amazon Fresh.
Amazon Dash is a free device but only works with Amazon Fresh, which is only available in Southern California, San Francisco and certain neighbourhoods in Seattle.
Although Amazon hasn't revealed when its Fresh service will be rolled out globally, Amazon's UK vice president Doug Gurr said in February: 'We don't publish forward strategy plans but history would suggest that once we roll out something across North America, typically that leads to international expansion.'
In addition to groceries, Amazon Fresh sells a total of 500,000 items including electronics, household tools, software, games and entertainment.
The Amazon Dash tool complements Amazon's Flow app that launched in February.
Flow uses augmented reality to help people discover information about items around them.
For example, when a user holds the phone's camera over an object - such as a book, game or box of cereal - the app will identify what it is, and reveal more information about the product.
This includes the author, release date, calories of food items, and more. It also lets users scan and dial phone numbers of launch websites from magazines, adverts or posters.
Other items will start playing audio clips or video clips when the app scans it.
Amazon Flow works in a similar way to Google's Googles.
Once an item has been identified, it can be shared on social networks or that item can be bought directly from Amazon.
Dash, pictured, connects to a smartphone or laptop via Wi-Fi. It has a built-in barcode scanner and microphone. Once an item is added to the basket, users checkout using the Amazon Fresh site on a laptop or via an app. Amazon Dash is a free device but is only currently available in Southern California, San Francisco and Seattle
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