Amazon has launched a grocery division. The new service, announced yesterday, will initially offer 22,000 lines of household products which can be bought online and delivered to your door.
As well as individual items, Amazon will offer discounts of bulk purchases of certain items such as rice, pasta and nappies. The new service will also include a large selection of international and niche products not previously available in UK supermarkets.
The division will offer specialist items like organic, kosher, gluten free, sugar free and vegan ranges.
Shoppers will be able to take advantage of Amazon’s established delivery system, already familiar to many users through prior purchases of books and other items through the e-retailer. This includes unlimited free one-day delivery with Amazon Prime for £49 a year, and free super saver delivery where applicable.
Amazon has also gone mobile, giving iPhone users a special app while offering a mobile version of their site for other smartphone users.
"Amazon.co.uk's aim is to be the place where customers can find and discover any product they want to buy online,” said James Leeson, director of grocery at Amazon.co.uk Ltd.
Amazon, which has over 160 million customers worldwide, has sold groceries in the US since 2006. The move brings Amazon into direct competition with other online retailers such as Tesco, Sainsbury’s, ASDA and Ocado.
Although online grocery sales account for only a small percentage of the overall market, they are growing rapidly. Grocery specialists IGD predict that the e-commerce market for groceries in the UK will almost double to £7.2 billion by 2014.
