“A move like this makes sense,” said Miya Knights, co-author of Amazon: How the World’s Most Relentless Retailer will Continue to Revolutionise Commerce. According to suppliers briefed on Ultra Fast Fresh, their products will be picked and packed at the refitted Amazon depots. The stated aim of Ultra Fast Fresh, sources said, was to bring rapid grocery delivery to almost 40% of UK households by the end of the year. The first depot to be refitted is in London, and the next in Leeds.

According to those in meetings with Amazon, the project involves retrofitting nine existing depots so they can handle fresh produce and fulfil grocery orders within hours.

Lumina Intelligence: UK Food & Drink ReportsĪmazon is preparing to launch an ‘Ultra Fast Fresh’ service in the UK, a merging of Amazon Fresh and Prime Now, according to suppliers briefed by the e-commerce giant.Īnalysts understand the project could involve making Amazon Fresh a free benefit of Prime in the UK - it currently requires a monthly add-on fee or per-order charge - which promises to massively increase the company’s penetration into the grocery market and its potential to best Ocado.Īmazon representatives had been briefing suppliers earlier this year on what it called ‘hybrid grocery’, before the coronavirus crisis reached the UK.

Amazon fresh pickup