Global e-commerce giant Amazon has announced it is shutting down Prime Now platforms and has urged users to order groceries through the company’s app or website. The Prime Now app and website will be shut down worldwide by the end of this year.
Stephenie Landry, vice president of grocery at Amazn, said to make this experience even more seamless for customers, the company is 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.
Prime Now was established in 2014 as a way for members of its Prime subscription service to get books, toys, household essentials and other goods delivered to their doorstep in one or two hours for a small fee. It initially launched in select cities, but is now available in more than 5,000 cities and towns and two-hour delivery is free. Third party retailers or local stores that were offered on Prime Now app will be moved over to Amazon.
Landry, a blog post, said that in 2014 she had written a six-page document outlining a service that would allow customers to get last-minute items in about an hour. “We even gave the project the internal code name “Houdini”. In just 111 days, our team took the concept outlined in that six-page document and turned it into Prime Now, which became the foundation of Amazon’s ultrafast grocery and same-day delivery businesses.”
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The company, as per CNBC, had recently taken steps to streamline its grocery offerings. In January, the e-commerce giant shuttered its Prime Pantry service, which delivered non-perishable groceries. The company is also rebranding its Go Grocery brand to Amazon Fresh and closing down one of two Go Grocery locations.
The decision to shut down Prime Now has been underway for some time. As such, Amazon has been directing users to the Amazon app and website via a pop-up in the Prime Now app.
