Going to the grocery store can be quite an ordeal these days, especially if you don’t have the time to squeeze a full pantry re-stock into your busy schedule. But the flip side of not loading your cupboards is typically loading your stomach with unhealthy grub like fast food and other junk. Luckily, there are many grocery delivery options out there that help to maximize your time and make healthy eating a lot more feasible.
One of the more popular choices in this arena is AmazonFresh, a service that the online marketplace first started in 2007. If you’re curious about AmazonFresh and want to give it a try, we’ve broken down everything you need to know about the grocery delivery service.
How do I get AmazonFresh and how much does it cost?
To get started with AmazonFresh, you’ll first need to obtain an Amazon Prime membership, which costs $13 for a month or $119 for a year. AmazonFresh is free for Prime members, as long as your grocery order is over $35. For orders under $35, Amazon will tack on an extra $10 delivery fee. In certain cities like New York, orders must be over $50 to qualify for free delivery.
At this time, AmazonFresh is only available for new and existing Prime members on an invitation-only basis for most participating regions. Invitations can be requested by web or mobile. This is likely a temporary move to keep up with the increased demand for nationwide at-home grocery delivery, and we will update this post when/if new ordering protocols are put in place by Amazon.
How do I place an order?
You can place AmazonFresh orders on the web, or by using the Amazon app (for iOS and Android) on your preferred mobile device. Convenient filtering options are available on both platforms, letting you sort by price, food category, local deals, and more.
A bonus for our smart home foodies: If you happen to own an Alexa-enabled device, such as one of Amazon’s many Echo speakers, Alexa will begin to remember and automatically your favorite and most commonly purchased groceries to your next AmazonFresh order. The more you use AmazonFresh, the better Alexa will get at knowing what you like to keep in your fridge.
What can I buy on AmazonFresh?
You can buy just about anything you would normally find at your local grocery store on AmazonFresh. That includes staple items such as fruits, vegetables, canned goods, condiments, packaged snacks, and raw meat. AmazonFresh has it all. As part of Amazon’s Prime Pantry service (which is built into your Prime membership), you can even purchase frequently used necessities, including various cleaning products, batteries, and paper & plastic goods.
You’ll also have access to almost 1,000 Whole Foods products as well since Amazon acquired the organic grocery chain in 2017. Most of the products are part of Whole Foods’ 365 brand and fall under the categories of meats, produce, beverages, frozen goods, cereals, baking, and snacks. Pricing and availability for 365 products will vary based on your zip code.
How long does AmazonFresh take to deliver?
After you’ve selected all of your desired groceries and added them to your cart, you will receive a prompt from the site to select a delivery time. You have the option to choose same-day or next-day delivery, whatever works best for you. You can also opt for “Doorstep Delivery”. This delivery option is a three-hour window in which you are not required to be at home, or “Attended Delivery.” This option is a one-hour window that requires you to be available to accept the delivery.
For both Doorstep and Attended options, users have the option to leave specific drop-off instructions for couriers using the Delivery Instructions text field, which is located on the order preview page.
Where is AmazonFresh available?
AmazonFresh currently delivers to residences in Las Vegas, Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, Houston, Minneapolis, Phoenix, and Washington, D.C. For those settled overseas, AmazonFresh is also available in parts of Berlin, Hamburg, London, Munich, Tokyo, and India.
If you’re not sure if your zip code is eligible for AmazonFresh service, you can easily check and see if delivery is available to your address.
What other options do I have?
Here are a few other grocery-delivery options to check out.
- Postmates delivers just about anything to you: groceries and produce, takeout from restaurants, boutique items, whatever you need. Order totals include standard shipping fees and service costs; amounts vary depending on the vendor as well as the size and contents of the order. You can use Postmates without the $99-a-year membership, but it does get you free shipping on all orders, so it might be worth it for frequent users.
- Walmart Grocery delivers groceries from your local Walmart store. Some stores charge an annual flat fee of $98, while others have a delivery fee of up to $9.95 per order.
- Shipt is a grocery delivery service that employs independent shoppers instead of store employees. These shoppers select the items you order and deliver them to you. You can use the service on items from any store, and orders over $35 have no delivery fee as long as you pay for a $99/yearly subscription.
