Amazon Restaurants delivery service launches in London
Amazon has launched its Amazon Restaurants delivery service in London. From today (7 September), Amazon Prime members in selected London postcodes can now use the Prime Now app to order deliveries from participating restaurants.
In postcodes where the restaurant delivery service is available, customers will see Amazon Restaurants on the home page. Customers can view participating restaurants, browse menus, place orders and track the status of their delivery in real time.
As previously reported, Amazon launched its Restaurants service in Seattle in September 2015 and has since rolled it out to other key US metro areas, including Manhattan, Dallas, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Diego, Austin, Atlanta, Miami, Baltimore and Portland. Last Wednesday (31 August), Amazon expanded the Restaurants service to the Houston area.
As with the US service, Amazon Restaurants in London promises delivery within the hour and anticipates the average delivery time taking less than 45 minutes.
Commenting on the London launch, Al Wilkinson, UK Head of Amazon Restaurants, said: “London offers some of the best cuisine from around the world, so we’re delighted that Amazon Prime customers can now enjoy food from their favourite restaurants via Amazon’s ultra-fast Prime Now service.
“Based on our own research into what is important to consumers in food delivery, our team have hand-picked a selection of the best quality local restaurants in London. We’re excited to be helping many of these small businesses start offering home delivery for the very first time.”
The Amazon Restaurant’s coverage in London currently includes the City, West End, Westminster, Pimlico and Victoria in central London; Whitechapel, Bethnal Green, Bow, Clapton, and Homerton in the east; Islington, Stoke Newington and Stamford Hill in the north; Kensington and Chelsea in the west; and Southwark, Lambeth, Vauxhall and Kennington in south London. The plan, of course, it to expand the coverage as the service gets into its stride.
As with the US service, Amazon Restaurants in London offers free delivery for Prime customers (with a minimum order of £15.00).
Amazon launched its Prime Now “ultra fast” delivery service in London in 2015, and in June this year it introduced its AmazonFresh grocery delivery service to the UK capital.
The London meal delivery sector is a highly competitive market. Deliveroo is a key player but there are also a great many startups and local operators. In June, Uber brought its UberEATS service to London.
