Amazon introduces one-hour deliveries in "hundreds" of US locations

(Sharecast News) - Ecommerce giant Amazon has announced that it is introducing a new one-hour delivery option, seven days a week across "hundreds" of cities and towns across America. The company said on Tuesday that one-hour delivery is already available across hundreds of locations, including parts of major metropolitan areas like Los Angeles and Chicago, as well as smaller cities such as Des Moines in Iowa, Boise in Idaho and American Fork in Utah.

Meanwhile, three-hour delivery is available in over 2,000 cities and towns, as well as surrounding suburbs.

Amazon plans to bring the options to more areas "in the coming months", it said.

Prime members will have to pay $9.99 for deliveries within one hour, and $4.99 for those within three hours, while non-members will pay $19.99 and $14.99 respectively.

Its same-day delivery option, which first launched in 2015, remains free on qualifying orders and has been expanded to more than 9,000 locations.

"Our customers are busier than ever and are looking for new ways to save time while keeping their households running. We saw an opportunity to use our unique operational expertise and delivery network to help make customers' lives a little easier while unlocking even more value for Prime members," said Udit Madan, Amazon's senior vice president worldwide operations.

"We're excited to say that two decades after Prime first launched, we're still innovating to make delivery even faster, while maintaining the same everyday low prices and vast selection Amazon is known for."

Amazon.com shares were 1.4% higher at $214.74 by 1355 GMT.