Amazon’s Same-Day Delivery Just Expanded—Here’s What Shoppers Need to Know
Amazon has officially expanded its Same-Day Delivery service for fresh groceries to more than 2,300 U.S. cities, answering one of the biggest shopper questions of the holiday season: How fast can I get fresh food delivered to my door? The announcement marks one of the company’s largest grocery-delivery pushes to date, signaling a new phase in its competition with Instacart, Walmart+, and other quick-commerce players. As demand for fast and reliable food delivery continues to surge, Amazon says even more cities will be added in 2026, making this rollout a cornerstone of its logistics strategy.
Credit: Makidotvn/ Getty ImagesSame-Day Delivery Now Covers 2,300 Cities—and More Are Coming
The expansion builds on Amazon’s August launch of perishable grocery delivery through its Same-Day Delivery platform. What began as a limited rollout has scaled rapidly, powered by growing customer adoption and the company’s aggressive push to reshape how Americans buy fresh groceries. Amazon says the service now spans major metros, mid-sized cities, and smaller communities—effectively covering the vast majority of Prime households. With more markets planned for next year, Amazon is positioning itself as one of the most accessible fast-grocery services in the U.S., and it hopes this nationwide footprint will help it outperform its rivals in convenience and speed.
Why Amazon Is Pushing Faster Grocery Delivery Now
Same-day grocery delivery has become one of the most competitive corners of e-commerce, and Amazon’s timing is no accident. Instacart’s strong 2025 numbers and Walmart+’s rapid membership growth have reshaped consumer expectations, especially around perishable goods. By offering fresh groceries through the same interface customers already use for electronics, books, and household tools, Amazon is betting on convenience as its differentiator. The company says the launch has already accelerated customer orders, especially among Prime members who were looking for a faster, simpler way to restock their kitchens without juggling multiple delivery apps.
What Shoppers Can Order Through Same-Day Delivery
Since the August debut, Amazon says shoppers have consistently added fresh fruits, vegetables, and refrigerated essentials to their usual orders—creating a mixed cart that includes everything from bananas and dairy to electronics and household staples. The company highlights that the majority of orders now contain perishable items, showing a major shift in how customers approach grocery planning. Fresh groceries make up nine of the ten most-ordered products on the platform, with bananas, avocados, strawberries, honeycrisp apples, and limes topping the national charts. Frozen foods, baked goods, snacks, and bathroom essentials like tissues and paper towels have also become frequent add-ons.
The Top Bestselling Items Reveal a New Shopping Trend
Amazon’s bestselling Same-Day Delivery items offer a revealing snapshot of what Americans buy most often under tight timelines. The top ten list includes bananas, Haas avocados, strawberries, honeycrisp apples, limes, blueberries, blackberries, organic bananas, navel oranges, and bathroom tissue. The mix suggests that customers are increasingly using the service for everyday essentials rather than last-minute emergencies. Amazon says this shift has contributed to perishable grocery sales growing 30-fold since January—an unprecedented spike that showcases the power of offering fresh foods with the same speed as traditional Prime deliveries.
How Amazon Keeps Perishables Fresh During Fast Delivery
To support the rollout, Amazon has built what it calls a “specialized temperature-controlled fulfillment network,” designed to keep groceries stable from storage to drop-off. Every order goes through a six-point quality check before leaving the warehouse, ensuring fruits, vegetables, and dairy products arrive intact. Temperature-sensitive items are packed into insulated bags to maintain freshness during transport, even during long routes or extreme weather. For customers, this infrastructure means Same-Day Delivery isn’t just fast—it’s also reliable, which Amazon sees as critical to winning long-term trust in grocery delivery.
Customers Are Shopping More Often With Fresh Groceries Added
Amazon’s data shows a clear behavioral shift among users who try perishable Same-Day Delivery. Shoppers who add fresh groceries to their orders shop about twice as often as customers who don’t include perishables. This increase in frequency is significant, and Amazon says it confirms the company’s belief that delivering high-quality fresh food is key to boosting overall platform engagement. More frequent orders also suggest shoppers are treating the service like a hybrid of a grocery trip and a convenience-store run, relying on Amazon to fill gaps in their weekly needs without planning full grocery lists.
Prime Members Get Free Same-Day Delivery With a Minimum
Pricing remains one of Amazon’s strongest competitive levers. For Prime members, Same-Day Delivery is free on orders above $25—an intentionally low threshold designed to make adding groceries feel effortless. If the order doesn’t reach the minimum, customers can still choose same-day delivery for a $2.99 fee. Non-Prime customers can also access the service, but at a fixed price of $12.99 per delivery regardless of order size. The tiered pricing gives Prime members an obvious advantage and nudges more shoppers toward membership, reinforcing Amazon’s long-term focus on growing its subscription ecosystem.
What This Means for Amazon’s Grocery Strategy in 2026
With the expansion now live, Amazon’s next challenge is scaling the service efficiently across new regions in 2026. The company is investing heavily in automation, refrigerated storage, and routing technology to support higher order volumes without sacrificing speed or quality. Industry analysts expect Amazon to use the Same-Day Delivery expansion as a foundation for broader moves in grocery—possibly including new store formats, upgraded Whole Foods integrations, or additional delivery partnerships. If the 30-fold growth in perishables continues, Amazon could redefine how U.S. shoppers think about grocery trips altogether.
A Strong Move in the Race for Instant Groceries
Amazon’s expansion to 2,300 U.S. cities marks one of its most ambitious logistical upgrades of the decade. With customers increasingly expecting fast, fresh, and frictionless delivery, the company’s Same-Day Delivery push has arrived at the perfect moment. Perishables are now at the center of Amazon’s strategy, and early results show shoppers are embracing the shift. As the company prepares for a broader national rollout in 2026, the race for instant groceries is entering a new phase—one where speed, freshness, and convenience will determine the winners. Amazon is betting that with its expanded network and growing customer adoption, it’s already pulling ahead.
