The time when grocery shopping simply entails clicking on an online store and waiting for the items to arrive at one's doorstep might come sooner than expected, as e-commerce giant Amazon has announced a deal with Britain's fourth-largest grocery chain, WM Morrison Supermarkets PLC, enabling the online retailer to offer the grocery giant's items in its online store.
The service, which is expected to be fully functional within the coming months, would feature "hundreds of Morrisons products" available for purchase through Amazon's online store. The service would be offered to Amazon Prime members under the company's Prime Now and Amazon Pantry services.
Amazon has already attempted to take a crack at the online grocery shopping market, though prior to the Morrisons partnership, the items available in its online store, especially fresh and frozen food, was quite limited.
With Morrisons in the picture, however, Amazon would experience a significant boost in its product lineup, with the British grocery chain offering fresh, chilled and frozen food, as well as other food products such as chocolate, soup, spaghetti and orange juice. According to Amazon, the lineup would still expand over time, with more and more Morrisons products being offered online.
The grocery delivery service would be part of Amazon's Prime Now service, which charges customers $9.73 for one-hour delivery. Customers who would like to avoid the charge could opt for the company's two-hour, same-day Prime Now delivery service, which is completely free of charge. In the U.K., the delivery service is available in London, Birmingham, Newcastle, Manchester and Liverpool, though the service is set to be offered in other areas soon.
Customers who are in locales not covered by the company's Prime Now service might opt for Amazon Pantry instead, which is offered across Britain. The service costs $4.16 per box of groceries, which are delivered the next day.
The news of the partnership has been met with enthusiasm among customers and investors, with Morrisons' shares surging 6 percent after the deal was announced. According to analysts, the surge might just be beginning, as Amazon might very well help the British grocery magnate further increase its market share in the U.K.'s major cities.
