Technology

Could Amazon's Move in Manhattan Signal a Fundamental Change?

Chris Lange

Published: May 17, 2016 10:25 am

Last Updated: January 13, 2020 7:57 am

Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) has made subtle changes in its delivery business model, but the change announced Tuesday could be a real fundamental shift. The company announced that its Amazon Prime members in Manhattan can now enjoy free one-hour delivery from local restaurants.

Previously, members of Amazon Prime could order groceries or practically anything one might need online, with the exception of hot food. This move by Amazon is changing all that, opening up the possibilities for delivering almost anything.

According to Amazon’s release, once an order is placed, Amazon delivery partners deliver the food in one hour or less in the Manhattan area. Amazon Restaurants offers customers transparent pricing, meaning there are no menu markups or hidden service fees, and that delivery on all orders is free for Prime members. If a customer finds a restaurant item that is priced higher than the regularly priced item on the restaurant’s current online menu within 24 hours of placing the order, Amazon will refund the customer the price of the item.

Gus Lopez, general manager of Amazon Restaurants, commented:

Amazon Prime members across Manhattan have already experienced the convenience of ultra-fast delivery through Prime Now. And now, we are making it even better by adding free delivery from hundreds of local restaurants.

We have been serving our world-famous, coal-fired brick oven pizza to New Yorkers and tourists since 1929 and we are excited to now offer customers free delivery through Amazon Restaurants. Amazon Restaurants’ commitment to fast delivery and great customer service made it an easy choice when looking at which delivery provider we could trust with our customers and pizzas.

Shares of Amazon were trading down 0.7% at $705.46 Tuesday morning, with a consensus analyst price target of $793.26 and a 52-week trading range of $418.36 to $722.45.