Food and grocery stores have continued to make grocery shopping more convenient for customers, offering methods such as curbside pickup, pre-ordered bags, and home delivery to ease the process.
Amazon Fresh is one such service offered by Amazon, one of the largest grocery retailers in the U.S. But what is Amazon Fresh, and how does it work? Read on to find out what I’ve discovered about this!
What Is Amazon Fresh?
Amazon Fresh is a delivery and pick-up grocery service that’s offered in various regions and cities. Customers who are Amazon Prime members or have a valid invitation can shop for food, household supplies, and other everyday essentials from an Amazon Fresh location in their area.
If you want to learn more about how Amazon Fresh works, how to use the service yourself, how it is different from Amazon-Whole Foods and much more, keep on reading!
Is Amazon Fresh Its Own Grocery Store?
Amazon Fresh is a chain of physical store locations where customers have the option to shop in-store.
However, it is mostly known for the pickup and delivery service the store offers, making grocery shopping easier and more convenient for its customers.
What Brands Can I Buy from Amazon Fresh?
While Amazon Fresh mostly focuses on stocking its own food and home essential brands, it also stocks many notable brands in produce, snack food, and home supplies.
These include the following:
Produce Farms and Brands:
- Taylor Farms
- Gotham Greens
- Little Leaf Farms
- Organicgirl
- Earthbound Farm
- Ocean Spray
- Fyffes
- Wonderful Halos
- D’Anjou
- Zespri
Dairy and Eggs Brands:
- Fresh
- Happy Belly
- 365 Whole Foods
Snack Food Brands:
- Aplenty
- Annie’s
- Kettle
- Boom Chicka Pop
- Smartfood
- Lays
- Doritos
- Mott’s
- Dole
- Philadelphia
- Tostitos
Beverage Brands:
- Stumptown Coffee Roasters
- AHA
- Pepsi
- Coke
- Starbucks
- Aquafina
- Nestle
- Dasani
- Arizona
- Zevia
- Vita Coco
- Bubly
- Pure Leaf
- TAZO
Household Supply Brands:
- Ziploc
- Glade
- Febreze
- Bounty
- Shout
- Kleenex
- Tide
- Betty Crocker
Note that the brands and products available at Amazon Fresh may vary depending on the individual location of each store.
You can narrow down the brands available in your area by entering your zip code into the Amazon Fresh website.
Where Is Amazon Fresh Available?
Amazon Fresh store locations are currently available in the following US cities:
- Atlanta
- Baltimore
- Boston
- Chicago
- Dallas
- Denver
- Houston
- Las Vegas
- Los Angeles
- Miami
- Minneapolis
- New York
- Phoenix
- Philadelphia
- San Diego
- San Francisco
- Seattle
- Washington DC
If you live in or near any of the above-listed cities, you may be able to take advantage of the Amazon Fresh delivery service.
To check availability, type your postal code into the Amazon Fresh website to see if you qualify.
Can I Buy Alcohol from Amazon Fresh?
Amazon Fresh delivers beer, wine, and other spirits by partnering with local liquor stores and restaurants. The selection will vary depending on where each Amazon Fresh store is located.
If customers live in an area with Whole Foods, they are more likely to find a larger selection on the Amazon Fresh Website.
Note that customers must be at home to receive their alcohol delivery in order to provide ID to prove they are of the legal drinking age for their state/province.
Do I Need A Prime Membership To Shop At Amazon Fresh?
In order to shop at Amazon Fresh, customers must have access to a Prime account or must obtain an invitation to shop at the grocery store.
Customers must have either a free Prime trial or regular Prime membership of either Amazon Prime or Amazon Prime Student in order to qualify.
Additionally, invited guests of Prime members and Prime household members also qualify to shop at Amazon Fresh.
Note that Prime Video members are not eligible to shop at Amazon Fresh.
How Can I Shop At Amazon Fresh Without A Prime Membership?
There are a couple of ways that customers can utilize Amazon Fresh without having an Amazon Prime membership.
The Amazon Fresh website has a sign-up sheet to request an invitation to shop at the store. If a customer requests an invite and is accepted, they will be admitted into the store.
Along with that, customers who have a valid SNAP EBT card are also allowed to shop at Amazon Fresh without a Prime membership.
Keep in mind that orders that are below the 2-hour free delivery threshold before tax have a delivery fee even with the EBT card.
Is Amazon Fresh Free For Prime Members?
Amazon Fresh offers free delivery to its Prime members as long as their order meets the Order Threshold.
This threshold varies across stores, but the minimum cost for groceries is usually between $35-$50 before taxes.
If the groceries being ordered are above the threshold price, customers will have to pay a delivery fee of either $5 or $8, depending on how quickly they’d like their delivery to be.
How Does The Amazon Fresh Market Work?
Amazon Fresh has formulated a system of shopping that enables customers to choose between shopping for themselves or shopping online.
According to the Amazon Fresh website, customers can do the following if they choose to go the online shopping route:
- Create/log in to your Amazon Prime account
- Click the Shop Now button and begin browsing through the store catalog
- After filling your cart, select either Delivery or Pick Up at the Store.
Note that grocery delivery must have a scheduled 2-hour window and is free with the minimum price of purchase pertinent to your area ($35- $50).
Customers can also save their regular grocery items to their cart to be automatically added for purchases at another time.
Amazon’s Alexa can also be used to fill your Amazon Fresh cart by saying this sentence, for example: “Alexa, add bread to my list.”
If customers need to make changes to their order, they can easily cancel or add items with no extra charge as long as their Amazon attendant hasn’t begun packing their order.
Along with that, customers can add or change their optional tip to order up to 24 hours after their items have been delivered.
Finally, if there is an issue with the delivered groceries, customers can contact Amazon customer service at any time to resolve any concerns.
What Is The Minimum Order For Amazon Fresh To Qualify For Free Delivery?
Amazon requires that orders be of a certain size before Amazon Fresh guarantees free delivery.
For most store locations, customers’ groceries must cost more than $35. In other major cities, however, the minimum cost is raised to $50.
If customers are unsure what the free delivery threshold is for your area, the Amazon Fresh website contains the information for each individual location.
Which Areas Use Key By Amazon For Amazon Fresh Deliveries?
Select U.S. areas will allow Amazon Fresh employees to utilize the Key by Amazon protocol, a system that gives Amazon employees access to a customer’s garage to prevent packages from being stolen.
In order for customers to find out if their region qualifies for this protocol, they can use Amazon’s Zip Code Eligibility page to see if their area is eligible for this service.
Customers can also ask their local Amazon Fresh or consult Amazon customer service for more information.
Where Does Amazon Fresh Get Its Groceries?
Amazon gets its grocery stock from a variety of different brands, stocking similar food products to Costco and Aldi (Dole, Kerrygold, Sabra, etc.).
However, it also focuses on stocking its own food product lines called Fresh, Happy Belly, and 365 Whole Foods.
What Is The Difference Between Amazon Fresh And Whole Foods?
Amazon purchased Whole Foods in 2017, allowing Amazon customers to use their Prime account to do their grocery shopping.
However, Whole Foods’ service is not the same as Amazon Fresh – while both stores offer the use of Amazon Prime accounts, Amazon Fresh and Whole Foods are separate entities.
Amazon Fresh sells a wide selection of national food and grocery products, private labels, and store-made products at a more modest price.
Whole Foods, on the other hand, sells organic produce at a comparatively higher price.
Additionally, Amazon Fresh is intended for everyday grocery, while Whole Foods is targeted towards health-conscious consumers who are willing to spend extra for clean foods.
How Much Should I Tip Amazon Fresh?
Tipping the Amazon Fresh delivery service is completely optional, and customers can edit the amount they’d like to tip on their order.
Keep in mind that 10% is the standard amount for delivery for those who choose to leave a tip.
Is Amazon Fresh Only Available In The US?
Amazon Fresh is available in only select locations scattered globally.
Currently, Amazon Fresh can be found in most major U.S. cities, Berlin, London, Hamburg, Milan, Munich, Rome, Tokyo, Singapore, and India.
Unfortunately, Amazon Fresh is not currently available in Canada.
What Day Does Amazon Fresh Restock?
Amazon Fresh will generally restock its produce, snack foods, beverages, and more within 30 days of running low or out of its product, with the exact time varying across locations.
However, customers can check the stock from their local Amazon Fresh by checking the website with their zip code.
What Do I Do With Amazon Fresh Delivery Bags?
Amazon Fresh delivers its groceries in large green tote bags that contain ice packs, as well as brown paper bags where most products purchased are placed.
Amazon doesn’t require customers to return its green tote bags, and they can easily be reused.
However, if customers are wondering how to dispose of their Amazon Fresh bags, they can do the following for each individual material:
Green Tote Bags
The materials in all the green tote bags are recyclable, so customers can simply dispose of their bags by bringing them to their local recycling center or in their curbside recycling bins for pickup.
Amazon Fresh also offers a Tote Pickup that customers can schedule. Totes can also be picked up when customers place their next Fresh order by leaving the bags outside the door.
Ice Packs
Ice packs are made with recyclable materials and can therefore be disposed of by being placed in a curbside pick-up recycling bin or brought to a local recycling depot.
Brown Paper Bags and Cardboard Dividers
The materials in the paper bags and cardboard dividers are made of recyclable materials and can be brought to a recycling depot or placed in a curbside recycling bin for disposal.
Dry Ice
When ordering frozen foods, dry ice is often placed in Amazon Fresh deliveries.
Due to how cold it is, customers must handle the ice with extreme caution and must not allow children to touch the dry ice bag or leave it in an easily accessible area.
Here are the steps you should follow to properly deal with dry ice:
- Take the bag out of the tote and only hold it on the edges of the white insert.
- Place the dry ice bag in a well-ventilated area for about 24 hours to allow the dry ice to disintegrate into a gaseous state.
- After all the dry ice has disintegrated, the dry ice bag can be recycled. The white insert covering the bag is not recyclable and can only be taken out in the trash.
If any of the bags or the green tote arrives damaged, Amazon urges customers to contact customer service and report the issue.
Any damage to purchased items caused by unfit packaging can be reported, and a refund for the goods will be issued.
To know more, you can also read our related articles on how does Amazon Go works, if Amazon takes WIC, and if Amazon delivers to apartments.
Conclusion
Amazon Fresh is a grocery store that offers a grocery delivery and pick-up service. In order to shop at Amazon Fresh, customers must have an Amazon Prime account, an invitation from Amazon Fresh, or a valid SNAP EBT card.
Amazon Fresh is available in most major US cities and other international locations. Customers can check if they qualify for Amazon Fresh delivery by entering their zip/postal code into the Amazon Fresh website.
