An Amazon employee pulls a cart loaded with packages in New York City on July 12, 2022.
Michael M. Santiago | Getty Images
Amazon is rolling out “ultra-fast” delivery to get packages to consumers in 30 minutes or less in dozens of cities across the U.S., the company announced Tuesday, marking its most aggressive push into quick commerce to date.
The company began testing a service called Amazon Now in several U.S. cities in December. It has also started delivering within 15 minutes in parts of Brazil, Mexico, India and the United Arab Emirates.
Amazon said in a blog post that it is expanding the service to Austin, Texas, as well as new cities including Denver, Minneapolis, Phoenix, Seattle, Philadelphia, Dallas and parts of Atlanta. The company said it plans to bring the millions of customers who currently have access to Amazon Now to “tens of millions of customers in these cities and beyond” by the end of this year.
After hooking customers with its two-day shipping and next-day delivery, Amazon is working to make same-day delivery the new norm, putting even more pressure on gig economy companies. like instacart, door dash and Uber Eats will take your order within hours.
Amazon recently introduced 1-hour and 3-hour delivery options to more parts of the US. And while the company has been working for more than a decade to use drones to deliver deliveries within an hour, the program has faced several challenges, including layoffs, safety incidents and regulatory setbacks.
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy speaks with CNBC at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, January 20, 2026.
CNBC
CEO Andy Jassy wrote in the company’s latest annual shareholder letter that investing in faster delivery is valuable because it leads to higher conversion rates and keeps shoppers coming back to Amazon’s site more often.
Speeding up shipping could also deter shoppers from making small purchases at brick-and-mortar stores, such as: walmartwhich claims to deliver to 95% of U.S. households within three hours.
Udit Madan, Amazon’s senior vice president of worldwide operations, said the goal of Amazon Now is to give customers the option of super-fast shipping to get products to their doorsteps when they “need or want them.”
“You can have everything delivered to your door, from groceries for dinner to AirPods before your flight to household items like laundry detergent and toothpaste,” Madan said in a statement.
Items available for delivery within 30 minutes are marked with an Amazon Now label and a lightning bolt. The company also has a separate Amazon Now landing page.
Amazon uses specialized micro-fulfillment centers, often called “dark stores,” for deliveries. The 5,000- to 10,000-square-foot warehouses can stock thousands of products and are located closer to customers than Amazon’s typical large warehouses, which are often located near highways or distribution hubs.
The service relies on Amazon’s network of on-demand Flex drivers, who sign up for shifts and make deliveries in their own vehicles.
Amazon said its Flex Drivers use cars to make super-fast deliveries, but as Amazon Now expands, it’s open to considering other transportation options in certain regions. The company has been incorporating electronic cargo delivery bikes into its last-mile operations in some cities over the past few years.
The company says delivery within 30 minutes will be available 24 hours a day in most areas where the service is available.
Prime members pay an Amazon Now fee of $3.99 plus an additional $1.99 for orders under $15. Non-Prime customers, on the other hand, pay a $13.99 shipping fee and an additional $3.99 for orders under $15.
WATCH: Amazon delivery drone cuts internet cables in Texas
