Key Takeaways
- Amazon Fresh delivers groceries directly, sourced from local and national suppliers.
- Offers a wide product range, including groceries, alcohol, and wellness essentials.
- Utilizes Amazon warehouses and local stores for stocking and delivery.
- Allows returns within 30 days for unsatisfactory purchases.
Amazon Fresh is an innovative service that delivers fresh groceries right to your door, but have you ever wondered where these items come from?
The supply chain for grocery delivery services is complex, and the one used by Amazon Fresh is especially unique.
You can feel more confident about buying groceries online from Amazon Fresh by knowing where your order is coming from.
Learn more about the way they use a mixture of local and national sourcing, combined with quick delivery, to guarantee quality products right on your doorstep.
How Amazon Fresh Works Behind the Scenes
When you make an Amazon Fresh order from the Amazon app or website, a series of events is set off to get it ready.
They require you to choose a two-hour window within which you’ll be ready to collect the order from your door.
Once you submit your order, the warehouse in your city will receive it and package it in-house.
They package it in boxes and insulated bags for a driver to pick up along with their other orders. The driver drops orders off over the next few hours all around the city.
Drivers carry many orders at once, which differs from other services like Instacart.
Due to the packaging and infrastructure of the trucks they drive, the speed of delivery and freshness of goods are consistently maintained. The service is known to be prompt and accurate.
It’s important to note that Amazon Fresh also has brick-and-mortar stores, just like Whole Foods or Sprouts.
The first Amazon Fresh store opened in 2015 and more locations have successfully spread since then. They’re stocked by the warehouses but operate separately from grocery delivery.
What Does Amazon Fresh Sell?
Amazon Fresh has a vast product range of over 500,000 products. Their range is typical for a grocery store and includes products beyond food, such as household items and cosmetics.
Some of the items you can purchase through the Amazon Fresh service are:
- Local and seasonal produce
- Meat and seafood
- Dairy products
- Bakery products
- Snacks
- Frozen foods
- Ready-to-eat meals
- Beer and wine
There’s a wide range of brands carried, including the Whole Foods’ 365 line, their own Happy Belly and Fresh branded items, and plenty of others that wouldn’t be available at shops like Whole Foods or Costco.
Which Products Aren’t Sold by Amazon Fresh?
Since Amazon Fresh isn’t a store, they don’t have certain items in stock. You won’t be able to purchase bulk bin items in specific amounts. Some locations may also limit alcohol sales, depending on where you live.
They also don’t carry the full range of Whole Foods items, contrary to popular belief. While both stores are owned by Amazon, they have different distribution channels. You’ll see plenty of overlap, but not fully.
Where Do Amazon Fresh Products Get Sourced From?
The online Amazon Fresh store sources its items from national and local suppliers and manufacturers. They do their best to provide a wide range of products for everyone to shop.
The price points reflect this as well, with both affordable and luxury items on offer.
Large Suppliers and Distributors
Similar to other grocery stores, Amazon Fresh works with large suppliers and distributors to stock their warehouses. Traditional products you’d see on any grocery store shelf are also offered on Amazon Fresh.
Whole Foods
Since Amazon owns Whole Foods, they share a similar distribution chain and benefit from selling many of the products.
Amazon Fresh sells the Whole Foods 365 brand, along with other popular brands seen in the store.
Local Grocery Stores
Amazon Fresh also often has ties with local grocery stores across the city to make up for high demand.
If certain items aren’t accessible in their warehouses, they can lean on local grocery stores to find and resell them.
Grocers like Bristol Farms, Save Mart, Cardenas Markets, and Weis Markets all have their range listed on Amazon Fresh.
Local Suppliers
Amazon also sources from local suppliers and farmers. Certain locations will be able to order foods that other locations can’t, due to limited access in that area.
For example, Seattle may have a strawberry supplier nearby but someone in New York won’t be able to order these in their store.
Where Are Items Kept for Amazon Fresh?
Amazon Fresh has stores, warehouses in the cities, and warehouses close to the cities for extra storage.
This variety of buildings allows them to maximize space and complements the availability of items in stock if needed.
Stores
Amazon Fresh stores are located in the most densely populated areas of a few cities. While you can pick up groceries from these locations, they’re not where online orders are packaged or sent out from.
These stores are known for their high-tech user experience, allowing customers to shop without a cashier.
As you walk around, the store adds items to your cart as you grab them and charges you when you walk out the door.
City Warehouses
The warehouses in the city are the main suppliers for online orders. They’re large, refrigerated storage spaces that hold most of the items for Amazon Fresh orders.
Some of these warehouses may be attached to an Amazon Fresh store, but this isn’t always the case.
Orders will be packaged at these inner city locations by warehouse workers for pick-up. Their proximity to the city makes it easier for drivers to pick up and drop the orders off around the area.
These warehouses will contain the most popular products for easy order completion, but some rare items may be required to be sent in from other warehouses.
This is one of the reasons Amazon doesn’t do instant delivery like DoorDash does.
Replenishment Centers
Amazon has warehouses that are farther away than the ones in the city, which they use as replenishment centers.
These can be larger due to their locations, allowing them to hold a greater quantity and variety of products for customers.
These warehouses make it easier to supply a greater number of options without needing the space in the city warehouses to carry all 500,000 products.
The Unified Cart Initiative
While Amazon does carry an extensive range of items, there are products that Whole Foods or Amazon.com carry that they don’t.
Amazon recognizes this limitation and is looking for a way to combine the three suppliers to create a more cohesive delivery service.
The idea for their Unified Cart Initiative was introduced in late 2023. It would allow customers to make one order split among the three different suppliers.
At the moment, their differing supply chains make this a difficult task. Keep your eyes open for this possibility in the future.
Amazon Fresh Drivers
The drivers that will drop off your order are Amazon employees. They’re not contracted by a third-party app, like DoorDash or Instacart.
While Amazon does employ drivers who are contractors, they’ll not be the ones that take Fresh orders to your door. Amazon Flex Drivers use their personal vehicles to drop Amazon packages off.
Amazon Fresh drivers need to be trained on handling refrigerated trucks and other specific vehicles, as well as on special policies for handling food.
Employing full-time and part-time employees as drivers encourages better service and more accountability with your order than through third-party contractors.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Much Does Amazon Fresh Delivery Cost?
Members can get free shipping on orders over $100, while non-members will need to pay between $7.95 to $13.95. For orders under $100, members’ delivery and service fees are between $3.95 to $9.95.
Can You Return Products from Amazon Fresh?
Yes, you can return products within 30 days if you’re not satisfied with your purchase. You’ll receive a full refund. This can be completed online under your Amazon account or by calling customer service.
Where Is Amazon Fresh Offered?
Grocery delivery services are offered in any location with an Amazon Fresh store. Amazon currently offers these services in California, Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Washington D.C., Washington.
Wrapping Up: Is It Worth It?
Grocery shopping is an ever-changing landscape. Amazon Fresh led the industry by offering cashier-less grocery stores, a grocery delivery service through the Amazon app, and alternative supply chains to ensure ease and freshness to their customers.
If you’re looking for a convenient, affordable, and fresh way to shop your groceries from the comfort of your home, look no further.
You can find the widest range of local and national products by shopping at Amazon Fresh.
