Dive Brief:
- Amazon is providing two-hour delivery from Rite Aid stores in select ZIP codes in Newark, New Jersey, and Burbank, California, the company said in an emailed announcement last week.
- The service is available for Amazon Prime members living within the greater Newark and Burbank areas. It gives customers access to products in categories such as health and personal care, grocery essentials and cosmetics, but it doesn't offer delivery for prescriptions and pharmaceuticals.
- "We’re consistently looking for ways to offer more choice, flexibility, and value for Prime members so we look forward to expanding our two-hour delivery window offering to more Rite Aid locations in the future," an Amazon spokesperson said in a statement.
Dive Insight:
Rite Aid is a sizable addition to the roster of chain stores Amazon offers quick delivery from. The company has more than 2,200 stores in 17 states, giving Amazon the potential to offer Prime members scattered across the country access to two-hour delivery from the chain as the number of locations grows.
While the team-up with Rite Aid bolsters Amazon's various perks for Prime members, it also helps the company make the most of its sizable last-mile network, said Dean Maciuba, managing partner USA for Crossroads Parcel Consulting, in a LinkedIn post.
"This is another example of Amazon acting as a pure Pickup and Delivery service for 3rd party shippers and gets them one step closer to being a direct competitor to UPS and FedEx," Maciuba said. "This is also an example of Amazon leveraging the capabilities of their on-demand, same-day, Flex delivery network."
Amazon also offers two-hour delivery from retailers such as Bartell Drugs, Cardenas Markets and Save Mart in select cities for Prime members. Unlike Rite Aid, many of the companies Amazon provides two-hour delivery from have footprints concentrated on the West Coast, such as California chains Bristol Farms and Pet Food Express.
Amazon's quick delivery services aren't limited to two-hour windows. The company last year launched same-day delivery for Prime members ordering from retailers such as Pacsun and GNC in certain markets.
