Grocery shopping can be wildly inconvenient at times, especially when you find it difficult to get out of the house due to time or energy constraints.
Over the last couple of years, grocery delivery services have allowed us to get full orders brought right to our door. It’s important to know that some services are definitely better than others in terms of quality and quantity of available products, cost of packing and delivery service, as well as speed and friendliness of the delivery drivers. Whether you have tried a few grocery services already or are just looking to try grocery delivery for the first time, Amazon Fresh may be the perfect option for you.
In order to find out, we’ve put it to the test and provided answers to common questions below. Ultimately, we conclude that it’s a fantastic service although it truly depends on what you consider important in grocery delivery.
What is Amazon Fresh?
Amazon Fresh is an online grocery store that offers a wide array of fresh foods and pantry items. It allows you to shop and purchase items online, and receive those items within a selected time-slot. If you have Amazon Prime, you can use the Amazon Fresh service for free although you must pay an extra delivery fee if you don’t meet the spending threshold (although this threshold is only $35-50 so it is met quite easily if you are completing a full grocery order).
You can use this service in many different places in the United States including Chicago, Boston, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Seattle, Washington D.C., and more.
Who is Amazon Fresh for?
Amazon Fresh is an excellent option for anyone looking for a convenient way to purchase and receive grocery orders. That said, you must go through a small process in order to be granted access to the platform and you must have Amazon Prime (free trial or paid membership) in order to do so. So, if you plan to use Amazon Fresh, it is best to sign up before you actually need your groceries.
If you would like to sign up for the service, you simply need to request to join Amazon Fresh. Amazon will send you two emails: one to confirm your request has been sent, and one to inform you of your approval.
How does Amazon Fresh work?
Once you are approved, you can sign into the Amazon Fresh marketplace website or app to select your items from their wide selection of fresh foods, pantry items, and household goods.
When your cart is full of the articles you would like, you can proceed to the checkout where you can choose a delivery date and two-hour time slot.
You can also view a complete price break-down of all your items, applicable taxes, delivery fee (free if over the spending threshold), and a delivery driver tip. After ensuring everything on this page is correct, you can purchase your cart.
Unlike other grocery delivery services, where the items are selected from the particular store you are purchasing from, Amazon fulfills its Amazon Fresh orders from large warehouses. Depending on your location, they are shipped by air or truck. Then, they are picked up by Amazon Fresh drivers and left for Doorstep Delivery (where you do not have to be home) or Attended Delivery (where you will be home to receive the order).
What are the advantages of Amazon Fresh?
There are many benefits to using Amazon Fresh as your go-to grocery delivery service:
- You will save time by ordering groceries online since you do not have to do the work of going to the store, selecting your items, checking out, and coming back home.
- You can compare prices of items online easily, rather than going to different stores to check on sales and discounts.
- If you forget an item, you don’t need to begrudgingly head back to the grocery store. You can edit or cancel your cart up until a certain cut-off time.
- You have access to a large database of fresh foods, pantry items, and household goods similar to a super store.
- You have a better selection of organic foods as Amazon owns grocery stores such as Whole Foods.
- Amazon has a high-level of quality control so your fresh fruits, vegetables, and meats should always be on par with something you would choose in-store.
- If you order frozen or refrigerated food, you do not need to worry about them thawing or spoiling as they include insulation and cold packs to keep your items cool. Note: Amazon Fresh stopped providing insulated bags for me about 6-months ago, but I still have not had any issues with thawing or spoiled food yet.
- You have the option to include a tip for your delivery drivers, 100% of which goes to the driver.
- If an item is no longer available at the time of packing your order, and Amazon does not provide a substitution, then you will not be charged for that item. However, if they do provide a substitution, you may not be charged for it either!
What are the disadvantages of Amazon Fresh?
Similar to most delivery experiences, as much as they are perfected and streamlined, they simply may not be ideal for some people. Some deal-breakers for Amazon Fresh may be:
- Amazon Fresh, like other areas of Amazon, uses a lot of packaging for its orders. If you’re concerned about reducing your environmental footprint, this may be a deterrent. However, this packaging may be on par with most other grocery delivery services.
- Unlike some other grocery services, Amazon Fresh will not regularly replace unavailable items with substitutions. On the other hand, its marketplace seems to keep up-to-date tabs on what is and isn’t available.
- Again, like other grocery delivery services, same-day delivery is usually not available. You typically have to place your order well in advance.
- Amazon Fresh marketplace does not have any alcoholic beverages for sale.
Is Amazon Fresh worth it?
All in all, if you are searching for an excellent grocery marketplace and delivery service, Amazon Fresh is an exceptional option. We find that its advantages vastly outweigh its disadvantages, mainly because these are cons you would find with most other grocery delivery services. If you already have Amazon Prime or are interested in trying a free trial, you may be interested in giving Amazon Fresh a try!
