Amazon Prime Now, a service exclusive to the company's Prime members, is set to conduct its two-hour delivery service until 11:59 of December 24. The service is currently available in 30 US cities.
Members of Amazon's premium subscription service can avoid beating the rush in brick-and-mortar stores for gifts, food items, and other holiday niceties just by placing orders on the company's website. Delivery is done within two hours of ordering, so customers can make their purchases online until 9:45 in the evening of December 24 in time for the 11:59 deadline.
MaryAnn Monforte, an accounting practice professor at the Whitman School of Management of Syracuse University, said in an interview with USA Today that Amazon Prime Now places great pressure on competitors to outmatch the ecommerce giant's efficient practices. According to her, the service's sheer convenience and the logistical challenge it presents put "little more stress on traditional brick and mortar stores, local and the big box mass retailers."
First introduced in New York in 2014, Amazon Prime Now is available in cities where a large number of Prime members reside. In that way, the company gets to maintain a warehouse in those cities exclusive for Prime Now, Mashable has reported.
A peek inside Amazon's Prime Now warehouse in New York reveals a sense of organized chaos. Unlike the usual brick-and-mortar establishment, the warehouse arranges items randomly in different kinds of cubbies - a process the company deemed as an efficient way for organizing their massive inventory.
Whereas two-hour deliveries are free of charge, Amazon Prime Now also offers a one-hour delivery service for an additional $7.99. Deliveries are done by workers depending on the destination's proximity from the warehouse - by foot, subway, or truck. To have a clearer view on what actually goes on behind the scenes of the service, watch this feature from Tech Insider: