Amazon adds booze to same-day delivery service
Orders fulfilled by local retailer Keg N Bottle
Source: Union-Tribune
By Jennifer Van Grove
Feb. 4, 2016
Just in time for the Super Bowl, Amazon is giving San Diegans a way to complete their last-minute beer and booze runs without having to get off the couch.
The e-commerce giant Thursday expanded its same-day delivery service, called Prime Now, to offer speedy beer, wine and liquor delivery in the area through a partnership with Keg N Bottle, a local retailer with nine San Diego County locations.
“We just knew that customers in San Diego would love this added service in Prime Now, and we’re always excited about finding these great local partners,” said Ashley Robinson, a spokesperson for Amazon. “Keg N Bottle is a great locally based company … and they were eager to partner with us and expand their customer base through our offering.”
San Diego represents only the third market, trailing New York City and Seattle, where Amazon is shipping alcohol through its ultra-fast courier service.
Offered in select markets, Prime Now is a perk bundled with Amazon Prime membership, giving members who use the Prime Now mobile app access to one-hour (for a $7.99 fee) and two-hour delivery (no extra fee) windows for select goods. Prime costs $99 a year, comes with two-day shipping on many Amazon products and offers complimentary access to the company’s growing streaming video library.
In San Diego, the Prime Now service dispatches “tens of thousands” of Amazon items from a centrally located mini fulfillment center. The mobile app also offers on-demand access to groceries and other local fare through partnerships with Sprouts Farmers Market, Sprinkles Cupcakes, Bristol Farms and Northgate Market. Prime Now delivery is available daily between 8 a.m. and 10 p.m., though alcohol sales don’t begin until 10 a.m.
The addition of alcohol adds extra appeal to Amazon’s same-day courier service, which initially arrived in San Diego in November. The offering also pits Amazon directly against smaller, specialized upstarts such as Minibar and Saucey, which operate in select local neighborhoods and deliver alcohol, on-demand through mobile apps, to patrons in about an hour.