Source : Perth Now news
Amazon has dropped major news for shoppers in two of Australia’s biggest cities, with customers set to receive their orders a whole lot faster.
Amazon Prime members in Melbourne and Sydney who spend a minimum of $49 can now receive orders for free as fast as five hours after placing the order, or customers can pay a small fee to use the service.
The faster delivery times puts the service on par with other major cities such as London and New York, and reduces the typical three-day wait for online shoppers.
Orders received by 10pm will be delivered to the door between 4am and 8am the following morning.
Orders received by 8am will be delivered between 2pm and 6pm that day, and orders received by 12pm will be delivered between 5pm and 10pm that night.
It is Amazon’s fastest delivery option to date and applies to about 500,000 products available through its huge online store.
Amazon head of speed Laura Riordon said customers now had three options to get deliveries as fast as five hours.
“The first window, which we’re most excited about because it’s unique to Australia, we call the overnight delivery,” she said.
“You can order up to 10pm and it will arrive between 4am and 8am before you go to work or before the kids go to school.
“I call it the lifesaver, my nephew needed shin pads for a soccer game on Saturday and it arrived before his soccer game.
“It’s up to 500,000 items so we probably do have that obscure thing you need for that kids’ school project.”
She said the afternoon window was perfect if you forgot a present for a party or needed to stock up on household essentials like bulky like toilet paper or dog food.
“Our research shows the majority of Sydneysiders and Melburnians traditionally wait three business days for online purchases,” she said.
“Yet 75 to 80 per cent say that one of the things they value the most is fast and free shipping, so we are super excited to offer this.”
