In a Friday announcement, Amazon is shutting down its stand-alone Prime Now platforms and is directing users who want fast delivery on groceries and other goods to order them through the Amazon app or website. The Prime Now app and website will be retired worldwide by the end of this year, Amazon said.
“To make this experience even more seamless for customers, we are moving the experience from a separate Prime Now app onto the Amazon app and website so customers can shop all Amazon has to offer from one convenient location,” said Stephenie Landry, vice president of grocery at Amazon. It has made other changes in recent months to simplify its delivery offerings for customers. Earlier this year, Amazon ended its Prime Pantry delivery subscription service for non-perishable items and moved the items to the main site. And now it is Prime now.
Amazon (AMZN) said it was making the move to simplify the shopping experience for Prime Now customers by allowing them to buy groceries and other items, track their orders, and contact customer service from one site.
Prime Now app and website was launched in 2014 for speedy deliveries on groceries, household essentials and other items. Amazon also offers one-hour delivery on some items with Prime Nowservice initially launched in a handful of cities, but it’s now available in more than 5,000 cities and towns, with the two-hour delivery option now free. In a testament to how much the service has grown, Amazon operates dedicated Prime Now warehouses to fulfill orders.
Separately, Amazon is opening new Amazon Fresh grocery stores as it attempts to expand in the grocery industry. It has rolled out multiple services, acquired upscale supermarket chain Whole Foods for $13.4 billion in 2017 and last year launched its own chain of Fresh grocery stores. Amazon has opened about a dozen Fresh locations around the United States over the past year, and it says it has plans to open four more stores. Grocery analysts say dozens more could be on deck.
The move to shut down Prime Now’s app and website had been underway for some time. The company recently began directing users to the Amazon app and website via a pop-up in the Prime Now app.
Additionally, Amazon said it has already discontinued Prime Now’s app and website in India, Japan and Singapore. It also began offering two-hour delivery from Amazon Fresh and Whole Foods on Amazon in 2019. The move is said to be Amazon’s attempt to integrate all services into a standalone platform.
Dinh Tung
