Half the fun of ordering off Amazon is having your packages delivered straight to your door. However, the online retail giant's newest service may be just enough to entice folks to head outside by having their goods ready to go almost instantly.
Amazon is rolling out a new service called Instant Pickup, letting Amazon Prime customers in select areas gather their purchased items within mere minutes of placing an order.
The idea is that certain 'impulse' orders like snacks, a spare charger or school supplies can be ordered via the Amazon app and almost immediately be picked up at the established Instant Pickup location, helping Amazon insert itself into a whole new niche: last-minute shopping.
While this sounds great for a variety of reasons, unfortunately, Instant Pickup is limited right now, with the grab-and-go system only in place for a small selection of items at two brick-and-mortar locations at the University of California at Berkeley and in Westwood, Los Angeles, home to UCLA.
However, additional locations in Atlanta, Georgia, Columbus, Ohio and College Park, Maryland, are also being considered for Instant Pickup points, according to Reuters.
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Primed and ready
This isn't the first time Amazon has brushed with blazing fast delivery. In the US, two-day shipping is a standard for the Amazon Prime members. Some applicable orders can even be completed in the same day, thanks to Amazon Prime Now.
Certain orders made through AmazonFresh, Amazon's grocery delivery service, can sometimes also be fulfilled in as little time as 15 minutes.
As Amazon is expected to expand its reach to the food industry with meal preparation kits and ready-to-eat provisions, customers may be enticed further with the idea of not waiting all day for their packages — potentially giving Amazon a major new foothold as a convenience shopping giant.
