Amazon is looking to expand its grocery delivery business.
The online retailer has announced a new monthly subscription program that will offer (kinda) free delivery of grocery orders over $35 within an hour, where available. Prime members can sign up for $10 per month. (Prime subscribers previously paid $6.95 for orders of $50 to $100 and $9.95 for those under $50.)
Non–Prime members who have an EBT (Electronic Benefit Transfer) card can get the same benefits for $5 per month—with a 30-day free trial.
A trial version of this program launched last year in three cities, but with this announcement, Amazon is expanding the service to more than 3,500 cities across the U.S. Beyond Amazon-owned Whole Foods Market and Amazon Fresh, members can get deliveries from a variety of local grocery and specialty retailers, along with unlimited delivery on orders of $35 or more from Cardenas Markets, Save Mart, Bartell Drugs, Rite Aid, Pet Food Express, and Mission Wine & Spirits.
Prefer to get your groceries in person? Subscribers can pick up orders within 30 minutes, regardless of the size of their order—and receive priority access to the company’s Recurring Reservations option for weekly grocery orders.
Prime customers will continue to receive discounts both in-store or online, regardless of whether they sign up for the delivery subscription.
Amazon bought Whole Foods Market in 2017.
Amazon has been increasingly adding side subscription options for its Prime members. Last year, it added commercials to its Prime Video program, instituting a $3 per month surcharge to do away with those.
These add-ons have helped the company keep the price of a Prime membership relatively stable. The company last increased the cost of a Prime membership in early 2022, raising it to $139 per year.