I have used Amazon Fresh grocery delivery service for a few years. It usually offers a good selection of products at a reasonable price. For orders above $35, there isn’t a delivery charge. Although, I always add on a tip for the driver.
That was the way it used to work. Today, I got an e-mail from Amazon saying they are changing their delivery charge rates. Soon, you will need to order at least $150 for free delivery.
From the link: Beginning Feb. 28, Prime members who want home delivery from Amazon Fresh will incur a $9.95 delivery fee for orders below $50, while orders between $50 and $100 will include a $6.95 delivery fee, and orders between $100 and $150 will have a $3.95 delivery fee, the company said in a note to customers viewed by CNBC. Only Prime members can use the Amazon Fresh delivery service, although anybody can shop at an Amazon Fresh grocery store.
If this weren’t bad enough, I have noticed the availability of items has gone way down lately. Some popular products just aren’t there anymore. I guess I will be going to the local brick & mortar grocery store for my needs from now on.
Probably inevitable. Remember the questionable business models during the first “information superhighway” hype at the end of the 90s. I remember people commenting on the cost effectiveness of home delivery of big bags of cat litter.
Took 20-30 minutes to get the info. I had not received such a notice, so I wondered about it. It is accurate. Large orders (over $150) are delivered free. Otherwise, fees, fees, and fees. So, I will stop using Amazon Fresh because it is not cost effective to buy from them. No way would I be able to put together a large order to get free, or even the $3.95 delivery fee. Plus, they add a tip for the driver. I see no reason to keep using them once the new fees go into effect.
For the sake of argument, if we assume items are available, does this mean that you value your own time and expense to fetch your own groceries at no more than $9.95?
I’m curious to see how the unit economics of personal delivery (either taxi for people or items) will evolve. With high variable costs (driver labor plus fuel, etc), for now anyways, services like Uber seem like not-so-great businesses.
Note: This is a post about how @waterfell values his time. Not trying to start another MaaS infinity thread.
IMO, that is really stupid. Plus, their prices are simply not low. I have complained several times–to Amazon Fresh directly–about the frequency of their “out of stock” items, which can last for weeks (months in a few cases and over a year for one specific item).
They will then charge three fees to use the service:
Amazon Prime fee,
Delivery fee,
Driver tip.
Yet their original premise was there would be no delivery fee.
Be interesting if they keep or waive the fee AND tip when paying for groceries with a SNAP card.
IMO, Walmart, Target, and other stores will gain new customers. And we may see Amazon Fresh become a storefront targeted at the “grab and go” crowd rather than a grocery store with delivery.