Amazon to launch an Instacart-like service in the US next year, report says

    
    James Martin/CNET
    Amazon?reportedly wants to take its role in the grocery industry to new heights in 2022. The retail giant is planning to launch a new grocery delivery service in the US next year and expand its current service in Europe, according to a report?Monday by The Information.?
    While Amazon has been involved in grocery delivery for years?– offering deliveries through Whole Foods or from Amazon warehouses — this new service reportedly allows deliveries from third-party retailers, supermarkets and vendors.?
    Amazon began offering this new Instacart-like service in the UK this past year, according to The Information.?Amazon Prime subscribers are able to order same-day deliveries of groceries from two popular UK supermarkets, Morrisons and Co-op, using the Amazon app and website. Amazon reportedly plans to expand that model across Europe and into the US next year.?
    Amazon didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment, but spokesperson Jessica Canfield told The Information that “partnerships with other grocers enable more customers to shop online and allow us to provide Amazon Prime members with more choice, value and convenience.”?
    Back in 2014, Amazon launched a third-party delivery service in some cities, letting customers place orders from local stores using the Amazon Prime Now app. Amazon shut down the standalone Prime Now app earlier this year, instead saying it would move the delivery option into its main app.
    With this new service, Amazon may be looking to capitalize on the grocery delivery boom during the COVID-19 pandemic, but it’s one among many companies expanding in this area.?Instacart?and?Uber?have taken steps to broaden their services with fast, same-day delivery options. DoorDash last week announced a new?”ultrafast” grocery delivery service?in New York City, and Walmart last month even started testing a?drone delivery service?in Arkansas to bring groceries by air.?