There are a lot of perks to shopping on Amazon, whether it’s the fast, and often free, shipping or the thousands of items available in most categories, from pets to baby to furniture and just about everything else you can think of.
If you shop for groceries on Amazon, you may be wondering what is Amazon Prime Pantry? I have to admit I was curious about Prime Pantry too, so I started searching and here is what I figured out!
What Is Amazon Prime Pantry In 2024?
Amazon Prime Pantry was an Amazon service where shoppers paid a flat shipping rate of $5.99 per box of grocery items, up to 45 lb. or 4 cubic feet, whichever was met first. Originally launched in 2014, Prime Pantry was discontinued at the start of 2021 as Amazon consolidated its grocery delivery programs to streamline the shopping experience.
If you want to know more about Prime Pantry, including why it was canceled and the best way to buy Amazon groceries now, keep reading for the latest update!
Why Was Prime Pantry Canceled?
A lot of people enjoyed shopping on Prime Pantry and were surprised when Amazon announced it was being phased out.
According to Amazon’s interview with Bloomberg News, Prime Pantry was combined with the overarching Amazon.com store to make it easier for customers to stock up on groceries without paying for an additional subscription or needing to meet a minimum purchase amount.
Over the years Prime Pantry was shifted to a subscription model, which effectively meant shoppers had to jump through an extra hoop just to get their groceries.
By consolidating its Pantry selection, Amazon actually made it much simpler and faster for customers to purchase their grocery items alongside all their other household essentials.
Also, while Amazon Pantry was successful at the start, it was soon eclipsed by Amazon’s more popular grocery delivery options like Amazon Fresh and Prime Now.
The retailer ultimately found it more beneficial to phase out Prime Pantry and focus on the success of on-demand grocery delivery options, which get groceries to customers even more quickly.
What Is Amazon Fresh?
Amazon Fresh is a grocery delivery and pick-up service offered in select major cities and metro regions, which is open to Prime members or those with a valid invite.
Significantly more groceries are available on Amazon Fresh than there were on Prime Pantry, which was limited to things like canned foods, cereal, bottled water, and other non-perishable items.
In fact, Amazon Fresh has over 500,000 grocery and household items up for grabs, including fresh fruit, veggies, dairy, meat, seafood, and more.
Amazon Fresh also has physical locations where customers can shop in-store, although the delivery and pick-up options are most popular.
Free two-hour delivery is available for orders that meet the minimum threshold, which is typically $35 before taxes. This makes Amazon Fresh extremely competitive and often even more affordable than its Prime Pantry predecessor.
For small Amazon Fresh orders that do not meet the threshold, delivery fees are usually $5-$8 depending on the speed.
What Is Amazon Prime Now?
Amazon Prime Now is another example of how it’s still easy to stock up on groceries and must-have household items from Amazon, even without Prime Pantry.
Prime Now offers one and two-hour delivery on a wide range of grocery items from Whole Foods Market and select other stores.
This delivery service is similar to Amazon Fresh in that there is a threshold for free delivery, as well as an option for local pickup.
Available products depend on where you live and the Whole Foods Market stores near you, but with Prime Now available in over 50 cities, it’s becoming more and more popular with regular Amazon shoppers.
You can use Prime Now directly on the Amazon app or site to get affordable groceries delivered quickly from morning to night.
To learn more, you can also read our posts on what is Amazon Fresh, what is Amazon Prime Shipping, Amazon Prime facts, and how late does Amazon deliver.
Conclusion
If you wanted to try out Amazon Prime Pantry, you unfortunately missed out, as Amazon consolidated this grocery selection into its main store back in 2021.
The good news is that Amazon remains dedicated to on-demand grocery delivery options, so you can make the most of Amazon Fresh or Prime Now, which gives you faster shipping and a wider selection than Pantry had to begin with.
While it’s no longer an option to fill up a Prime Pantry box and get it shipped to your door for a flat fee, you may pick from over half a million products on Amazon Fresh for delivery in many major cities across the U.S.
Both Amazon Fresh and Prime Now offer fast and free delivery in participating cities as long as you reach the local threshold, usually around $35.
Just like Prime members had access to a premium Pantry selection, they also are automatically eligible for one and two-hour delivery on Amazon Fresh and Prime Now, so it’s a worthwhile way to buy groceries without even leaving the house.
