Amazon Fresh launches in the UK market
The online retailer is available in 69 central and east London postcodes offering 130,000 products. The company said it would consider roll-out plans across the UK.
Amazon Prime members in eligible areas can order a full weekly grocery shop from a range of brands such as, Coca-Cola, Kellogg’s, Danone, Warburtons and Walkers supplied by retailers such as Morrisons.
Amazon also offers fresh fruit and vegetables, meat, seafood, baked goods, dairy pet supplies, baby, health and beauty products.
Amazon Fresh customers will also be offered a selection of thousands of premium products from more than 50 of London's finest local producers, shops and markets. Those include Gail’s Artisan Bakery, C Lidgate, FishWorks, Paxton & Whitfield, Konditor & Cook, Bad Brownie, Daylesford, Chegworth Valley and Turnips.
All perishable products
All perishable products have a guaranteed minimum shelf-life. Amazon’s Freshness Guarantee means that customers would receive a refund if they were unhappy with the freshness of the products.
If an ordered item was not available on delivery, customers would not be charged and would receive a free substitute product in its place.
Amazon is offering one-hour delivery slots from 7am to 11pm, seven days a week. There is also same-day delivery available from 5pm for orders placed by 1pm.
A range of fresh, chilled and frozen items was also available for Prime members through Amazon.co.uk’s Prime Now service. This offered a one-hour delivery, or free delivery within a choice of two-hour same day delivery slots, to customers in London, Surrey, South Yorkshire, Manchester, Birmingham, Newcastle, Liverpool, Leeds, Portsmouth and their surrounding areas.
‘Best retailers in the world’
Ajay Kavan, vice president of Amazon Fresh, said:"The bar in grocery retailing is exceptionally high. The supermarkets and grocers are amongst the very best retailers in the world.
“We believe that the key to the long-term success of AmazonFresh is to bring together the low prices, vast selection, fast delivery options and customer experience that Amazon customers know and love.
“We are launching with a comprehensive offer in a limited area and will take our time to hone and improve our service based on our learnings and feedback from our customers."
Amazon Fresh is available to Amazon Prime members for £6.99 a month with unlimited delivery for orders above £40.
Meanwhile, OC&C Strategy Consultants partner Rambaut Fairley predicted Amazon Fresh would face four key challenges. See the box below.
Amazon Fresh: The challenges
OC&C Strategy Consultants partner Rambaut Fairley predicted, before the launch of Amazon Fresh, that the service would face four key challenges:
- Amazon would need to find a way to build its quality credentials across typically unbranded food products, in the same way that Ocado did when it teamed up with Waitrose
- Quality perception would be key and would be especially important online, where the retailer selects the product for the customer
- Warehousing and delivering fresh food required a totally different and more expensive, setup to Amazon’s current infrastructure
- The move risks taking the business away from core strengths
