Is Amazon gearing up to launch new delivery services in Seattle?

Sources have reported that Amazon may be looking to add new delivery services in the Seattle area. The US-based high-tech website Geekwire has claimed that a “confidential” new Amazon facility in Kirkland, North Seattle, is gearing up to launch the Prime Now one-hour delivery service in the Seattle area – even though there has been no public announcement from the online retail giant.

Geekwire added that the delivery companies Act Fast Delivery and Alpha Courier have posted jobs for drivers in the Seattle area.  The posts from both companies, said Geekwire, are “talking about a chance to work with one of the world’s largest retailers to deliver small packages — though they didn’t explicitly name Amazon”.

The report also claimed that Amazon has received licences for alcohol internet sales which could mean that “the Seattle area will be the first in the U.S. where Prime Now will offer one- or two-hour booze delivery”. Amazon previously delivered alcohol in the Seattle area through its Amazon Fresh grocery delivery service, added Geekwire, but the company phased it out in April.

Drizly, the alcohol delivery start-up which currently operates in 17 cities across the US, is active in the Seattle market and probably won’t be too keen to see Amazon looming on the horizon.

Finally, the report noted that the Kirkland facility had featured a number of “Amazon Flex” logos and signs. The wording on the signage, speculated Geekwire, could mean that “Flex” is either a system that lets online shoppers pick up their own packages from the distribution centre, or a new crowdsourced delivery option that will use Uber-like drivers to make deliveries. Alternatively, it could be a mixture of the two. As previously reported, Amazon is understood to be building a facility in Sunnyvale, California at which online customers can drive through and pick up their grocery purchases.