Launched in 2014, Amazon’s express delivery service Prime Now let Amazon Prime members receive purchases within two hours or less for free. It allowed the flexibility to order anything from groceries to household essentials, to electronics, toys, pet supplies, and even alcohol.
On 21 May, 2021 Amazon announced that it would be phasing out both the Amazon Prime Now app and website by the end of the year. But that doesn’t mean the service is going away.
Prime Now has just become same-day grocery delivery on Amazon. Here’s everything you need to know.
Is Amazon Prime Now going away?
While Amazon announced it would phase out the Prime Now app and site, it’s not the end of the service. And not much is changing really, except how you access it.
Amazon plans on integrating Amazon Now into the main Amazon experience, whether on the site or on the app. “To make this experience even more seamless for customers, we are moving the experience from a separate Prime Now app onto the Amazon app and website so customers can shop all Amazon has to offer from one convenient location,” said Stephenie Landry, Amazon’s VP of Grocery in the official .
This means instead of going to a separate app or site you can access the service directly from Amazon.
Amazon already phased out Prime Now in India, Japan and Singapore. US shoppers have also been able to have groceries delivered in two hours from Amazon Fresh and Whole Foods Markets since 2019. Amazon will now work towards moving all its “third-party partners and local stores to the Amazon shopping experience”.
In the UK, shoppers on the are being redirected to Amazon, where they can choose to shop from either Amazon Fresh or Morrisons for same-day grocery deliveries with a Prime membership.
Prime Now’s speedy delivery can be especially useful during Amazon’s Prime Day, which will take place on June 21-22 this year.
Prime Day offers millions of discounts sitewide to Prime members across all top brands. Amazon Prime 30-day free trial to get access to Prime Now. US visitors can sign up for the 30-day trial here.
Prime Now delivery rates and times
Prime Now is now just same-day grocery deliveries with Amazon Prime.
Your purchases can be delivered to you for free when you choose the 2-hour scheduled delivery window. In the UK, orders must be at least £15, however, your cart must be worth at least £40/$35 to qualify for free two-hour delivery, or you will be charged a £3.99/$4.99 fee.
In 2018 Prime Now also included one-hour delivery for £7.99/$7.99, depending on availability by postcode – however, this benefit is no longer advertised by Amazon, likely due to the disruptons caused by the pandemic.
Deliveries are made seven days a week, from early morning to late at night. Once you place an order, you also receive tracking updates directly to your phone so you can see how far along your delivery is. You can follow the delivery journey on a map too by going into the “Your Orders” section under “Your Account” on Amazon Prime.
Sign up for the Amazon Prime 30-day free trial to get access to Prime Now. US visitors can sign up here.
How much does Amazon Prime Now (same-day grocery delivery) cost?
There’s no separate cost for same-day grocery delivery via Prime, except for the cost of Prime itself (and if you’re below the minimum basket value as explained above).
Standard Amazon Prime membership
Amazon Prime Now is included with an Amazon Prime membership. A standard Amazon Prime membership costs £7.99/US$12.99 per month or £79/$119 annually (which works out to £6.58/$9.91 per month). Here’s everything you need to know about Amazon Prime including free trials, prices, and benefits.
You can sign up for the free 30-day free Amazon Prime trial before you pay anything at all. US visitors can sign up for the 30-day trial here.
Amazon Prime Student membership
An Amazon Prime Student account costs half the price of a regular membership. The monthly rate is £3.99/$6.49 per month or £39/$59 per year (which works out to £3.25/$4.92 per month).
Students also benefit from a 6-month free trial instead of a 30-day one. If you want to know more about getting Amazon Prime Student, see our dedicated article that covers everything from how much it costs, included premium services (like Prime Video and Music), and more.
You can sign up for the 6-month free trial of Amazon Prime Student here. US visitors can sign up for 6-month trial here instead.
How does Prime Now work?
You can now shop directly from Amazon’s same-day grocery delivery page or via the Amazon app, available for (US link) and (US link ). You can, of course, download the app through Amazon too.
In the UK, shoppers can choose between Amazon Fresh and Morrisons. While Amazon Fresh orders qualify for 1-hour and 2-hour delivery windows, Morrisons’ orders qualify for 2-hour delivery windows only. In the US, same-day grocery delivery is available via Whole Foods Market with free 2-hour delivery.
To see what items are available near you, enter your postcode on the app or on the website. Next, add what you need to your cart and check out with your Amazon Prime account.
Before you get to the payment page, you’ll be able to choose a two-hour time slot based on availability. Your products will be delivered to you by your local couriers based on the delivery window you prefer.
Which cities have same-day grocery delivery via Amazon?
When Prime Now existed as a separate service, it was available in most major cities in the UK including Birmingham, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, London, Manchester, Newscaster, Portsmouth, Sheffield and various others, as listed below. You can see if your area qualifies by .
US residents can also .
