Amazon has taken an important step in the field of fast commerce in Europe. The company launched Amazon Now in London. Users can order thousands of everyday essentials, including groceries and personal care items, delivered within 30 minutes in select areas of the city.
Specifically, this is the opening of ‘QLD1’, the UK’s first fast local delivery location. From this location, orders are delivered within 30 minutes in the Southwark area, the commercial and creative hub on the south bank of the Thames, right across from the city.
A new model of last mile delivery
It appears to be the first of many new moves Amazon plans to make in Europe for fast-paced commerce, inspired by its experiences in India and the United Arab Emirates. Elisa Michelin Salomon, head of Amazon’s EU express business program, writes on LinkedIn: “Six months ago, when we started this journey, I would never have imagined that we could deliver a completely new service at this speed.”
“Essentials of what comes next in the UK and EU”
“It wasn’t just about launching a website – it meant taking on the huge responsibility of building a whole new network, shaping new operations and enabling a new last-mile delivery model from the ground up.” Working with no fewer than 57 different Amazon teams, Salomon says the foundations have been laid for “what’s next in the UK and EU”.
Amazon now
Amazon is the UK e-commerce market leader. In 2024, sales increased by 12.7 percent to 36.7 billion euros, thanks in part to the delivery of more than one billion products in a single day. Figures for the past year are expected soon.
With Amazon Now, the company is responding to the need for speed among online shoppers, especially for everyday necessities. A dense network of smaller fulfillment locations is needed to be able to trade quickly in the UK and across Europe.
Fully integrated
Amazon Now is not a standalone service or app like its predecessor Amazon Prime Now once was, but is fully integrated into the main Amazon platform. In the examples shared by Salomon, the delivery fee is £3.99 on an order of £16.14. For Prime members, the delivery fee is lower (£1.99 per order).