Amazon.com, Inc. has expanded its one-hour free restaurant delivery service to Manhattan, New York, and Dallas, Texas, putting more pressure on other food delivery service providers as well as on Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. , which is testing a new unlimited two-day shipping.
The restaurant delivery service, available for Amazon Prime’s members, is now available in 10 cities in the U.S.
Using Amazon’s Prime Now mobile app and the website, customers can order their favorite food from more than 350 local restaurants in Manhattan, including Blue Ribbon Fried Chicken, Le Pain Quotidien and Sarabeth’s Tribeca.
Amazon Restaurants Offers Transparent Pricing
The Prime Now website allows customers to view participating restaurants, browse menus, place orders, track the status of their delivery, and watch as their delivery driver travels from the restaurant to the delivery address in real time.
Delivery partners will be responsible for delivering the order in 1 hour or less, and no extra or hidden fees will be charged on these orders. the firm says it is a transparent pricing, and participating restaurants won’t be allowed to raise the prices.
Delivery on all orders is free for Prime members.
Pressure On Restaurant Delivery Providers
Amazon.com, Inc. also announced the availability of its restaurant delivery service in Dallas. Prime members in Dallas can now order free delivery from local restaurants, including Blue Goose Cantina, Deep Sushi, Ellen’s Southern Kitchen, Fireside Pies, Greenville Avenue Pizza Company, Grub Burger Bar, and Terilli’s Restaurant and Bar.
“We are excited to offer Prime members in Dallas free one-hour delivery from some of the city’s best local restaurants,” said Gus Lopez, general manager, Amazon Restaurants. “Whether you are looking to dine at home or need dinner delivered to the office, Amazon Restaurants on Prime Now offers customers a broad selection of cuisines with a guarantee that customers will pay the same price with Prime Now as they do at the restaurant.”
The firm’s move to expand restaurant delivery business could pressurize other restaurant delivery providers and startups including GrubHub and delivery startup Postmates.
According to a news report by New York Post, participating restaurants will pay Amazon.com, Inc. 27.5 percent of each order.
Amazon Prime is an annual membership program that costs $99 a year. It offers customers unlimited Free Two-Day Shipping on more than 30 million items across all categories, unlimited Free Same-Day Delivery on more than a million items in 27 metro areas, and one and two-hour delivery with Prime Now on tens of thousands of items available in more than 25 metro areas.
