Amazon has announced the expansion of its rapid delivery services through “Amazon Now,” allowing customers to receive essential daily supplies within 15 minutes. The company operates small logistics centers throughout the UAE to ensure quick delivery of everyday items, ranging from fresh fruits and vegetables to groceries, personal care products, and electronics. This initiative aims to reduce delivery distances and alleviate traffic congestion. It underscores Amazon’s commitment to meeting the evolving needs of customers in the UAE, providing them with more convenient shopping options backed by a trusted shopping experience.
Ronaldo Mouchawar, Vice President of Amazon Middle East, Africa, and Turkey, stated, “Our innovations at Amazon are based on understanding our customers’ needs and expectations. We designed ‘Amazon Now’ to align with their lifestyle, offering everyday essentials within minutes. In some areas, customers may receive their orders in as little as 6 minutes. We strive to meet all customer demands, whether it’s a phone charger, urgently needed groceries, or baby care products.”
Recently, Amazon introduced a two-hour delivery service for customers in the UAE to provide more flexible and rapid options for receiving their purchases. This service includes a broad range of products across over 30 categories and is currently available in most major areas, with plans to expand to additional locations in the coming months.
Mouchawar emphasized, “Speed is crucial for customers in the region, which is why Amazon is focused on fast order delivery, ensuring we provide the best and most reliable shopping experience, with the products they need at competitive prices and complete reliability. We recognize that rapid delivery is essential, particularly for certain product categories offered on Amazon. For this reason, we now provide the ‘Amazon Now’ service to deliver daily essentials in 15 minutes, along with thousands of other products delivered within two hours. Additionally, Amazon Prime members enjoy greater value through exclusive discounts and faster delivery, among other benefits throughout the year.”
He added, “The value and significance of rapid delivery services come not only from speed but also from our commitment to providing a reliable experience. We ensure customers receive the products they want when they need them, at competitive prices, as we focus on offering everything our customers need on Amazon through millions of products across more than 30 categories. Notably, the fastest delivery time for a customer’s order through ‘Amazon Now’ was just 360 seconds, with some customers receiving their orders within 6 minutes.”
Regarding the products available via this service, Mouchawar said: “Amazon Now provides daily essentials, including high-demand items such as fresh fruits and vegetables (over 120 tons of bananas sold so far), necessary daily supplies like olive oil and milk, and health and wellness products like protein powder and energy drinks, along with popular items like phone and tablet chargers, and much more. In addition to shopping through ‘Amazon Now,’ customers can also shop a wide selection through the two-hour delivery service, which includes thousands of products across over 30 categories. Through partnerships with Al Othaim Markets in Saudi Arabia and Lulu Group in the UAE, they can also quickly and easily access groceries and daily necessities.”
Mouchawar assured that technology and innovative means are employed to ensure rapid delivery. He noted that offering ultra-fast delivery services is based on three main pillars that balance speed with economic sustainability:
First, leveraging technological innovations and generative AI to enhance customer experiences, support sellers, and streamline operations. For instance, our route optimization technology ensures efficient bundling of multiple orders in each delivery trip. As we expand our rapid commerce, we focus on harnessing AI innovations that personalize product discovery for each customer, improve delivery routes, and predict inventory needs to stock the right products near customers.
Second, Mouchawar emphasized strengthening Amazon’s operational network through strategic partnerships. He stated, “Our small logistics centers cater to customer demands in high-density areas, contributing to reduced travel distances while maximizing delivery capacity. Partnerships with governmental and private entities in the region have been essential for launching ‘Amazon Now.’ We also support national digital transformation agendas through public and private investments and partnerships.”
Mouchawar mentioned, “Our collaboration with 7X aims to transform delivery services in the UAE by redesigning existing locations to include small logistics centers in every neighborhood, allowing for faster delivery, reducing traffic congestion, and providing greater convenience for customers. We are accelerating product deliveries across a wider range through our new logistics center in Abu Dhabi, which was recently launched in collaboration with the Abu Dhabi Investment Office. We are working with leading grocery and supermarket firms, such as Lulu Group and Al Othaim Markets, in both the UAE and Saudi Arabia to deliver fresh products within two hours on Amazon.ae and Amazon.sa. By repurposing mail service buildings that were used before the internet era, we are reimagining postal networks to meet contemporary requirements. Additionally, positioning products closer to customers through local logistics centers reduces reliance on larger distribution centers, allowing for faster and more sustainable delivery that better aligns with supply and demand. The ‘Amazon Now’ service is a clear testament to this, and we continue to leverage our advanced infrastructure and extensive supply chain expertise to achieve cost savings while enhancing productivity through the advanced processes implemented in our logistics centers.