Amazon.com is intensifying the battle over delivery speed, directly responding to competitive pressure from rivals like Wal-Mart in the e-commerce space. The company announced on Tuesday that it is officially rolling out one-hour and three-hour delivery services across multiple U.S. cities, including major metropolitan areas such as Los Angeles and Chicago, as well as smaller cities like Boise.

The service includes over 90,000 products and is available to both Prime members and non-members for an additional fee. Udit Madan, Amazon's Senior Vice President of Worldwide Operations, stated that the company aims to leverage its existing operational expertise and delivery network to provide added value for Prime subscribers.

This move directly targets Wal-Mart, which has publicly claimed it can fulfill delivery to 95% of U.S. households within three hours, thanks to its extensive network of physical stores. At the same time, rapid-delivery platforms such as Instacart, DoorDash, and Uber Eats are accelerating their expansion, reshaping the competitive landscape of the U.S. quick-commerce market and putting continued pressure on market share for industry participants.

Service details include more than 90,000 items, with tiered pricing for additional fees. Amazon noted that its three-hour delivery service is already available in approximately 2,000 U.S. cities and towns, while one-hour delivery covers several hundred of those locations. Deliverable items include daily groceries, cleaning supplies, over-the-counter medications, clothing, and toys, with fresh food available in select regions.

In terms of pricing, Prime members will pay an extra $9.99 for one-hour delivery and $4.99 for three-hour delivery. Non-Prime members will be charged $19.99 and $14.99, respectively. To ensure the efficiency of ultra-fast delivery, Amazon has set up dedicated workstations within its existing same-day delivery centers, introduced yellow labels for quick package identification, and updated in-facility signage to streamline sorting.

On the shopping interface, Amazon has added a dedicated entry page, allowing users to filter search results for items available within one or three hours. A dedicated "getitfast" page is also available for related options.

Amazon's pursuit of faster delivery has deep roots. In 2005, the company introduced free two-day delivery with its Prime membership program and has continued to raise the bar since. In 2019, it shortened the standard delivery time from two days to one, and in recent years it has aggressively expanded same-day delivery, which often completes within hours.

In the ultra-fast delivery segment, Amazon has made multiple attempts with mixed results. In 2021, it shut down its standalone Prime Now rapid delivery service, and in 2024, it discontinued a service that promised quick delivery from malls and physical retailers.

Amazon's "Amazon Now" initiative, which focuses on delivering daily essentials and fresh groceries within 30 minutes, remains in pilot phases in Seattle, Philadelphia, and international markets including the UAE, India, Brazil, and Mexico. Additionally, Amazon has invested in drone delivery for over a decade, starting in two small test markets and now expanding to multiple cities.

Madan emphasized in a statement, "Twenty years after the launch of Prime, we continue to innovate to make delivery even faster while maintaining Amazon's hallmark low prices and vast selection."

Amazon's latest speed upgrade is a direct response to the increasingly fierce competition in the U.S. quick-delivery market. Wal-Mart, with its nationwide store footprint, holds a unique geographic advantage in delivery speed, posing a direct challenge to Amazon. More broadly, rapid-commerce platforms like Instacart, DoorDash, and Uber Eats are partnering with a growing number of retailers to extend instant delivery beyond groceries into more categories, further narrowing Amazon's differentiation.

Amazon has indicated that it plans to expand the one-hour and three-hour delivery services to more regions in the coming months. This expansion builds on its existing same-day delivery network, reflecting the company's strategy to upgrade its current infrastructure for higher speed standards.