Amazon is launching a one-hour delivery service, Prime Now, in London, offering high speed delivery on selected items to customers in east and central London.

Customers, who must be Amazon Prime subscribers, can order goods to their home or office for delivery in the next hour for £6.99.

A second, free, same-day delivery option is also available, for a two-hour window later in the day. 

London is the fifth city to get the one-hour delivery service, and the first outside the US.

Over the course of its expansion, Prime Now has also broadened its scope, from an “essentials” service largely focused on grocery delivery, to one offering a substantial portion of Amazon’s catalogue.

Deliveries appear to come from Amazon’s east London fulfilment centre near Abbey Mills in Tower Hamlets, and serves four east London postcodes as well as most of central London.

North, South and West London are not yet included in the service, however.

Same-day delivery is more than just a perk for Amazon Prime customers. It represents a growing battleground where the company is fighting against traditional retailers that are starting to use their physical stores as collection points for online orders.

Source: The Guardian