Amazon expands grocery delivery to 1,000+ cities with same-day service

Amazon announced today the launch of fresh grocery delivery through its Same-Day Delivery service in more than 1,000 cities and towns across the United States. The expansion marks one of the company's most significant grocery initiatives, with plans to reach over 2,300 locations by the end of 2025.

The Seattle-based e-commerce giant introduced thousands of perishable food items into its existing logistics network. Customers can now order produce, dairy, meat, seafood, baked goods, and frozen foods alongside millions of everyday household essentials, electronics, fashion, and home products already available for Same-Day Delivery.

"We're continuously innovating to make grocery shopping simpler, faster, and more affordable for our customers, especially Prime members," said Doug Herrington, CEO of Worldwide Amazon Stores. "By introducing fresh groceries into our Same-Day Delivery service, we're creating a quick and easy experience for customers."

The service enables customers to order milk alongside electronics, oranges and apples with mystery novels, and frozen pizza simultaneously with home improvement tools. All items can be checked out with one cart and delivered to doorsteps within hours.

Early Market Testing Drives National Rollout

Amazon began testing perishable groceries in its Same-Day Delivery service in Phoenix, Arizona, Orlando, Florida, and Kansas City, Missouri. Customers in these regions embraced the convenience, with many becoming first-time Amazon grocery shoppers who now return twice as often compared to those who didn't purchase fresh food.

Initial adoption showed significant popularity among Prime members. Strawberries consistently rank among the top 5 best sellers of all products sold, displacing AirPods from the position. Bananas, Honeycrisp apples, limes, and avocados round out the top 10 most popular perishable grocery items in Same-Day Delivery carts.

The expansion now includes cities like Raleigh, North Carolina, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Tampa, Florida, and Columbus, Ohio. According to the announcement, customers ordering cookware for Same-Day Delivery can now add everything needed for recipes – fresh vegetables, broth, noodles, herbs, chicken, and serving bowls – in one order.

Pricing Structure and Quality Controls

For Prime members, Same-Day Delivery is free for orders over $25 in most cities. Orders below the minimum incur a $2.99 fee. Customers without Prime membership pay $12.99 regardless of order size.

Amazon's specialized temperature-controlled fulfillment network ensures fresh, high-quality perishable grocery items. Every item undergoes a six-point quality check upon arrival and before leaving for delivery. Temperature-sensitive products are delivered in insulated bags recyclable in most curbside recycling programs, identical to those used for Amazon Fresh and Whole Foods Market deliveries.

The company has spent over 25 years setting standards for selection, speed, and value across millions of products, now applying this commitment to groceries. Amazon already serves as a grocery destination for over 150 million Americans, generating over $100 billion in gross sales of groceries and household essentials in 2024, excluding sales from Whole Foods Market and Amazon Fresh.

Strategic Context in Growing Retail Media Landscape

The grocery expansion comes amid Amazon's strong advertising performance. Amazon's advertising revenue reached $15.7 billion in Q2 2025, representing a 22% year-over-year increase. The company's advertising business operates at a $69 billion annual revenue run rate, with significant contributions from retail media capabilities.

The timing aligns with broader industry trends in retail media. Digital advertising revenue hit $259 billion in 2024, with commerce media including retail media networks rising 23% to $53.7 billion. Amazon's expanded grocery delivery creates additional advertising inventory across a larger geographic footprint.

Amazon has been enhancing its advertising technology offerings throughout 2025. The company launched goal-based bidding for Amazon DSP in September 2024, optimizing reach and frequency for brand awareness campaigns. Amazon DSP also expanded Related Product Targeting to third-party supply in August 2024, enhancing contextual advertising options.

The grocery service expansion builds on Amazon's recent retail developments. Prime Day 2025 extended to four days for the first time, running July 8-11 and achieving record sales. Amazon's Buy with Prime service has seen 45% year-over-year growth in orders through merchant websites, with participating merchants experiencing 16% revenue increases per shopper.

Technology Integration and Customer Behavior

The service complements Amazon's existing grocery delivery offerings, including Amazon Fresh, Whole Foods Market, and various local grocery and specialty retailers. This provides customers multiple shopping options based on specific needs, from full grocery hauls to same-day convenience shopping combining perishable food with everyday household essentials.

Amazon's approach addresses customer demand for consolidated shopping experiences. Early data from test markets showed customers appreciate ordering groceries alongside non-food items, with simplified online grocery shopping leading to increased usage of Amazon Fresh and Whole Foods Market for additional grocery needs.

The expansion continues through 2026, with Amazon emphasizing the service as one benefit of Prime membership. Prime provides savings, convenience, and entertainment in one membership, serving more than 200 million paid members globally.

Market Implications for Advertising Industry

The geographic expansion creates new opportunities for advertisers targeting grocery shoppers across more markets. Amazon's in-store digital signage advertising program launched in July 2024, bridging digital and physical retail spaces at Whole Foods Market and Amazon Fresh locations.

For marketing professionals, the expanded delivery network increases Amazon's reach into local markets previously underserved by major e-commerce platforms. This development strengthens Amazon's position in retail media, particularly for consumer packaged goods brands seeking to reach high-intent shoppers at the point of purchase decision.

The integration of grocery delivery with existing logistics networks demonstrates Amazon's operational capabilities in handling complex supply chains. This infrastructure supports advertising solutions requiring precise targeting and measurement across multiple product categories and geographic regions.

Amazon's emphasis on Prime member benefits reinforces the subscription model's importance to its advertising ecosystem. Prime members represent high-value customers with demonstrated purchasing behavior, creating attractive audience segments for advertisers across categories.

Timeline

• August 13, 2025: Amazon announces fresh grocery delivery expansion to 1,000+ cities through Same-Day Delivery service, with plans to reach 2,300 locations by year-end
• July 31, 2025: Amazon reports Q2 2025 advertising revenue of $15.7 billion, up 22% year-over-year, strengthening retail media position
• July 8-11, 2025: Amazon Prime Day extends to four days for first time, achieving record sales and demonstrating platform's promotional capabilities
• June 19, 2025: Amazon launches MCF fast badges for TikTok ads, expanding cross-platform commerce integration
• January 10, 2025: Amazon extends retail ad technology to other retailers with new cloud-based service for sponsored product advertisements
• October 19, 2024: Amazon DSP unveils next-generation ad technology for precise reach and performance optimization
• September 19, 2024: Buy with Prime expands with new capabilities, seeing 45% year-over-year growth in orders
• September 8, 2024: Amazon DSP expands Related Product Targeting to third-party supply for enhanced contextual advertising
• July 23, 2024: Amazon launches in-store digital signage advertising program for Whole Foods Market and Amazon Fresh locations

PPC Land explains

Same-Day Delivery: Amazon's logistics service that delivers products to customers within hours of ordering, typically on the same calendar day. The service operates through a specialized network of fulfillment centers strategically located near major population centers. For grocery items, Same-Day Delivery requires temperature-controlled facilities and specialized packaging to maintain product quality during transport. The service represents a significant competitive advantage in e-commerce, as it bridges the immediacy gap between online shopping and traditional retail pickup.

Prime Members: Subscribers to Amazon's paid membership program who receive benefits including free shipping, streaming content access, and exclusive deals. Prime membership costs $14.99 monthly or $139 annually, with discounted rates for students and government assistance recipients. The program serves more than 200 million paid members globally and functions as Amazon's primary customer retention strategy. Prime members demonstrate higher purchase frequencies and basket sizes compared to non-members, making them particularly valuable for advertising targeting.

Perishable Groceries: Food items with limited shelf life that require specific storage conditions to maintain quality and safety. This category includes produce, dairy products, meat, seafood, baked goods, and frozen foods. These items present unique logistics challenges for e-commerce companies due to temperature sensitivity, expiration dates, and consumer quality expectations. Amazon's expansion into perishables represents a significant operational undertaking requiring specialized fulfillment infrastructure and quality control processes.

Temperature-Controlled Fulfillment: Specialized warehouse and logistics infrastructure designed to maintain specific temperature ranges for sensitive products during storage and transportation. Amazon's system includes refrigerated storage areas, cold chain management protocols, and insulated delivery packaging. This infrastructure enables the company to handle perishable groceries while ensuring product quality and food safety compliance. The network represents substantial capital investment and operational complexity compared to standard e-commerce fulfillment.

Retail Media: Advertising platforms operated by retailers that leverage their customer data and shopping environments to deliver targeted advertisements. Amazon's retail media network includes sponsored product listings, display advertising, and video content across its marketplace and other properties. The sector has experienced rapid growth as brands seek access to high-intent shopping audiences and first-party consumer data. Retail media provides retailers with additional revenue streams while offering advertisers precise targeting capabilities.

Amazon DSP: Amazon's demand-side platform that enables programmatic advertising across Amazon properties and third-party websites. The platform provides access to Amazon's audience data and allows advertisers to purchase display, video, and audio inventory at scale. Amazon DSP competes with other major programmatic platforms while offering unique access to shopping behavior data. The platform has become central to Amazon's advertising strategy and revenue growth in recent years.

Geographic Expansion: The strategic process of extending services to new markets and locations to increase customer base and market penetration. Amazon's grocery delivery expansion from test markets to 1,000+ cities represents systematic geographic scaling based on operational capacity and market demand. This expansion strategy allows Amazon to compete more effectively with local grocery retailers and delivery services. Geographic reach directly correlates with advertising inventory availability and audience targeting precision.

Quality Control: Systematic processes designed to ensure products meet specified standards before reaching customers. Amazon implements six-point quality checks for perishable groceries, examining factors like freshness, temperature, packaging integrity, and expiration dates. These controls are essential for maintaining customer trust in online grocery shopping, where consumers cannot physically inspect products before purchase. Quality control becomes more complex with perishable items due to time sensitivity and storage requirements.

Logistics Network: The integrated system of warehouses, transportation routes, and distribution processes that enable product delivery from sellers to customers. Amazon's logistics network includes fulfillment centers, sortation facilities, delivery stations, and last-mile transportation options. The network's efficiency directly impacts delivery speed, cost, and service quality. Expanding grocery delivery requires significant logistics network modifications to accommodate temperature-sensitive products and compressed delivery timeframes.

Advertising Revenue: Income generated from selling advertising space and services across Amazon's digital properties and third-party networks. Amazon's advertising business reached $15.7 billion in Q2 2025, representing 22% year-over-year growth. This revenue stream includes sponsored products, display advertising, video content, and programmatic advertising sales. The grocery expansion creates additional advertising inventory and audience targeting opportunities, potentially driving further revenue growth in this high-margin business segment.

Summary

Who: Amazon.com Inc., led by Doug Herrington, CEO of Worldwide Amazon Stores, expanding services for Prime members and customers nationwide

What: Launch of fresh grocery delivery through Same-Day Delivery service, adding thousands of perishable food items including produce, dairy, meat, seafood, baked goods, and frozen foods to existing logistics network

When: Announced August 13, 2025, with immediate availability in 1,000+ cities and expansion to 2,300+ locations planned by end of 2025

Where: More than 1,000 cities and towns across the United States initially, expanding to over 2,300 locations by year-end, with continued growth through 2026

Why: To simplify grocery shopping, increase customer convenience, strengthen Prime membership value proposition, and capitalize on demonstrated customer demand from test markets in Phoenix, Orlando, and Kansas City where early adopters shop twice as frequently