Amazon preps Ultra Fast Fresh grocery delivery in UK

Amazon is planning to launch an Ultra Fast Fresh grocery delivery service in the UK.

According to a report by Reuters, this could be available to some 40% of UK households by the end of the year. The project is being led by UK country manager, Amazon Fresh and Prime Now, Russell Jones.

It will see Amazon retrofit nine existing depots across the country to handle fresh produce and fulfil deliveries. The first depot will be located in London, with the next earmarked for Leeds.

Amazon could make AmazonFresh a free service for Prime members in the UK as part of the launch. The e-commerce giant declined to comment on the Reuters story.

Going green

Amazon is making significant investments to drive its carbon footprint to zero despite the fact that shopping online is already inherently more carbon efficient than going to stores, boss Jeff Bezos said last week.

The online retail space is often criticised for polluting the planet. Environmental campaigners, for instance, argue that the growing consumer appetite for convenience – getting anything you want delivered to your door asap in just one click – is taking its toll on the environment.

In a 2019 letter to shareholders, however, Bezos observed that Amazon’s sustainability scientists had spent more than three years developing the models, tools, and metrics to measure the company’s carbon footprint.

“Their detailed analysis has found that shopping online consistently generates less carbon than driving to a store, since a single delivery van trip can take approximately 100 roundtrip car journeys off the road on average,” he claimed.

“Our scientists developed a model to compare the carbon intensity of ordering Whole Foods Market groceries online versus driving to your nearest Whole Foods Market store. The study found that, averaged across all basket sizes, online grocery deliveries generate 43% lower carbon emissions per item compared to shopping in stores. Smaller basket sizes generate even greater carbon savings.”