Amazon announced on May 12 that millions of its U.S. customers can order products for delivery in 30 minutes or less through Amazon Now.

The company will rely on micro-fulfillment centers to enable faster delivery speeds. In October 2025, it announced delivery in timeframes as short as 15 minutes in the United Arab Emirates using similar micro-fulfillment centers for Amazon Now sales. Then, in December 2025, it tested “ultra-fast” Amazon Now deliveries within 30 minutes in the U.S., in parts of Seattle and Philadelphia.

The offering speeds up from Amazon’s already fast one-hour and three-hour delivery options, which it announced in March for U.S. customers. In addition, the Amazon Now delivery speeds can apply to fresh groceries — a market the company has been pushing further into over the past year. In December, Amazon announced it had expanded its same-day grocery delivery offering to reach 2,300 U.S. cities and towns.

Amazon announced May 12 that millions of its U.S. customers can order products for delivery in 30 minutes or less through Amazon Now. | Image credit: Amazon press release

Amazon shares a visual of how customers will be able to shop Amazon Now on its mobile app. | Image credit: Amazon press release

Amazon ranks No. 1 in Digital Commerce 360’s Top 2000 Database. The database is how Digital Commerce 360 tracks the largest North American online retailers by their annual ecommerce sales.

Amazon is also No. 3 in Digital Commerce 360’s Global Online Marketplaces Database. That database ranks the 100 largest such marketplaces by third-party gross merchandise value (GMV).

Amazon Now offers 30-minute delivery

The company said it has made Amazon Now “widely available” in Atlanta, the Dallas-Fort Worth area, Philadelphia and Seattle. It is planning a “rapid expansion” to “dozens more U.S. cities,” according to its May 12 announcement.

That expansion, according to the company, will include:

  • Austin
  • Houston
  • Minneapolis
  • Orlando
  • Phoenix
  • Denver
  • Oklahoma City

“Amazon Now is for when you need or want the convenience of getting your Amazon order delivered in 30 minutes or less,” said Udit Madan, senior vice president of Amazon Worldwide Operations, in the announcement. “With thousands of items available for ultra-fast delivery, you can get everything from groceries for dinner, to AirPods before a flight, to household essentials like laundry detergent or toothpaste delivered right to your door.”

The company said Amazon Now’s selection “focuses on the items customers need most urgently.” It said customers can shop by category and receive personalized product recommendations.

And “in most areas where it’s available,” customers can use Amazon Now at any time.

Is there a fee for Amazon Now?

Amazon said Prime members will pay a $3.99 fee per order for the Amazon Now service. Meanwhile, customers without a Prime membership will pay a $13.99 fee.

It added that Amazon Now will have an additional fee for orders below $15.

For Prime members, that “small order fee” is $1.99. For customers without a Prime membership, small orders through Amazon Now will cost an additional $3.99.

What are Amazon’s different delivery options?

The company said Amazon Now complements its existing fast-delivery options. Those include:

  • Same-day and next-day delivery.
    Amazon said it offers millions of items for same-day delivery in more than 10,000 cities and towns across the U.S. It said it delivered 30% more same- and next-day deliveries in 2025 than in 2024, at 8 billion. More than half were groceries and everyday essentials, according to Amazon.
  • One-hour and three-hour delivery.
    Amazon said it offers more than 90,000 items and everyday essentials. This services uses Amazon’s same-day delivery network.
  • Prime Air drone delivery.
    Amazon said it delivers in less than an hour in nine locations across the U.S. It has made tens of thousands of items eligible for delivery through autonomous drone technology. Amazon said its drones deliver from sites in primarily suburban areas.
  • Amazon Business same-day grocery delivery.
    A week before its Amazon Now announcement, the company expanded same-day grocery delivery for Amazon Business customers. The B2B marketplace uses the same-day grocery delivery fulfillment network that Amazon.com uses for its consumer-facing side.

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