GoKawiilAmazon launched a 30-minute delivery service in several US cities on Tuesday, offering fast delivery on items like produce, baked goods, electronics and even booze. I gave it a shot, and it worked out well.
Amazon Now is now available in Atlanta, Dallas-Fort Worth, Philadelphia, and Seattle and surrounding areas. The service is also active in dozens more cities, including Austin, Houston, Minneapolis, Orlando, Phoenix, Denver, and Oklahoma City and will be "rapidly expanding" across those regions.
You can go to amazon.com/now to see if it's available in your area. You'll also see a "30-Minute Delivery" option in the banner on the Amazon app or homepage if you have access to the service.
Amazon said most locations can do the deliveries 24 hours per day, seven days per week. Delivery items include fresh groceries, household essentials and "locally relevant items." Alcohol delivery is available in some locations, where permitted.
If you're an Amazon Prime member, it costs $4. If you're not, it's $14. There's a fee of $2 for Prime members and $4 for non-members if your order is under $15. You can also add a tip for your delivery driver.
You can use Amazon Now on the mobile app or on Amazon.com.
From my home in a Seattle suburb, I decided to try it out. On my laptop, I went to Amazon.com and spotted "30-Minute Delivery" on the horizontal menu near the top of the home page, to the right of the Rufus button.
Look for "30-Minute Delivery" in the Amazon banner to access Amazon Now. Amazon
Clicking "30-Minute Delivery" sent me to a web page that showed lots of items for food and drink, personal care, electronics, health, alcohol and more. At the top of the page, it showed the delivery time, which was less than 30 minutes:
Amazon said it might refund delivery fees if deliveries take too long. Amazon
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