Amazon fast delivery growth is pushing beyond convenience
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Amazon Prime members are using fast delivery less like a convenience perk — and more like a substitute for routine shopping trips, according to new data from Amazon.
Why it matters: Groceries and everyday household essentials now account for half of all same- or next-day deliveries to U.S. Prime members, signaling a deeper shift in how Americans buy basics — and their reliance on delivery instead of physical stores.
The big picture: Amazon said Tuesday it delivered more than 13 billion items the same or next day worldwide in 2025, including over 8 billion in the U.S., marking its fastest delivery speeds for a third straight year.
- Roughly 4 billion U.S. deliveries were groceries or everyday essentials like paper towels, coffee and batteries.
- The e-commerce giant estimates fast delivery helped Prime members save an average of 64 trips to physical stores last year, or about 55 hours per person.
Between the lines: That mix marks a shift from earlier years, when fast delivery skewed more heavily toward discretionary purchases.
- Significant gains in delivery speed combined with free delivery are helping drive the change in consumer behavior, Amazon said.
State of play: Amazon has spent the past year integrating perishable groceries and prescription medications into its same-day delivery network, allowing customers to order food, medicine and household goods in a single checkout, often arriving within hours.
- Amazon expanded same- and next-day delivery to more than 4,000 smaller cities, towns and rural areas in 2025.
- Monthly customers in rural areas nearly doubled compared with the year before, with 49 of the top 50 re-purchased items classified as household essentials.
What we're watching: Whether consumers come to see ultra-fast delivery for groceries and essentials as the default way to shop — and how Amazon, Walmart, Target and other retailers adapt.
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