Amazon is set to shut down its Amazon Today program, a fast-delivery service that allowed customers to receive same-day deliveries from nearby retail stores. This closure, scheduled to complete by January 24, 2025, is part of Amazon’s efforts to streamline its services, consolidating its multiple rapid delivery options to enhance efficiency and cut costs. Amazon Today allowed customers to shop from a select list of retailers, including brands like PacSun, Office Depot, and Petco, and receive their items within hours. However, as Amazon’s offerings evolved, overlap began between this service and Amazon’s broader fast-shipping options, prompting the decision to discontinue Amazon Today.
The origins and growth of Amazon today
Amazon launched Amazon Today in 2022 as a way to further enhance its fast-delivery capabilities. The program enabled Amazon’s retail partners to sell products online, which could then be fulfilled directly from their stores by Amazon’s Flex drivers, who use personal vehicles to make deliveries. In contrast to typical Amazon orders, which are dispatched from Amazon’s warehouses, Amazon Today orders were collected from local brick-and-mortar stores, offering an option for customers who wanted items urgently without the need to wait for traditional fulfillment channels.
By partnering with a variety of brands, Amazon offered an extensive range of products for same-day delivery. This service primarily targeted urban areas with high demand for rapid delivery, particularly in metro regions, to compete with other fast-delivery providers, such as Instacart and DoorDash. Amazon’s strong emphasis on speed, convenience, and a wide selection of items made Amazon Today a popular choice for consumers looking for faster delivery.
Reasons behind the discontinuation
While Amazon Today initially provided significant value by adding flexibility to Amazon’s delivery network, the program also had challenges. For one, operational costs proved higher than Amazon’s traditional delivery methods. Unlike warehouse-based deliveries, Flex drivers working for Amazon Today often found their vehicle space underutilized, as the program required drivers to make individual pickups from various retail locations. This created logistical inefficiencies that ultimately made Amazon Today less profitable. Amazon Today routes were frequently shorter and involved multiple stops, limiting the number of packages drivers could carry per trip and increasing the time and cost per delivery.
In addition to these logistical challenges, Amazon Today started to overlap with Amazon’s other same-day and one-day delivery services. Amazon had continued to build out its fulfillment capabilities, expanding the selection of products eligible for same-day and one-day delivery across over 120 metropolitan areas. With customers now able to access a similar range of products and quick shipping options without the need for Amazon Today, Amazon identified redundancy between its delivery options. By discontinuing Amazon Today, Amazon aims to simplify its operations and focus resources on more cost-effective and scalable services.
Impact on employees and retailers
Approximately 300 Amazon employees were assigned to Amazon Today, with the program’s closure impacting some jobs. However, Amazon has stated that most employees will be transitioned to other roles within the company, with only a small number of layoffs anticipated. Severance packages will be offered to those directly affected by the shutdown.
Retailers that partnered with Amazon Today, including popular brands like SuperDry and GNC, are also affected by this decision. Amazon has committed to working with these retail partners to support a smooth transition, helping them adjust their fulfillment strategies for orders that will no longer be handled through Amazon Today.
Amazon’s broader cost-cutting strategy
The discontinuation of Amazon Today is part of a larger cost-cutting campaign led by Amazon CEO Andy Jassy, who succeeded Jeff Bezos. Since Jassy’s appointment, Amazon has focused on streamlining its operations, especially in the wake of slowed growth following the pandemic-driven e-commerce boom. Amazon has already cut over 27,000 jobs in recent restructuring efforts, the largest layoffs in the company’s history. Besides Amazon Today, other services, such as the company’s telehealth offering and the Treasure Truck shopping experience, were also discontinued as part of this larger strategy to reduce expenses.
What’s next for amazon’s delivery services?
Despite the end of Amazon Today, Amazon continues to invest in its fast-delivery infrastructure. Same-day and one-day delivery services are available to Amazon Prime members in major U.S. cities, covering millions of items across a range of categories. Amazon’s ongoing expansion of its delivery network reflects its commitment to ultrafast delivery, with fulfillment centers dedicated solely to handling same-day orders being established in key locations to enhance speed and efficiency.
Amazon’s rapid delivery capabilities remain an important competitive advantage, and by consolidating these services, Amazon hopes to maintain a streamlined, efficient delivery model. Although Amazon Today will no longer be an option, customers can continue to benefit from Amazon’s other fast-shipping programs, ensuring quick access to a broad array of products.
