Amazon.com is rolling out US pickup points where shoppers can retrieve items immediately after ordering them, shortening delivery times from hours to minutes in its latest move into brick-and-mortar retail.

The world&#39;s largest online retailer has launched &#39;Instant Pickup&#39; points around five college campuses, such as the University of California at Berkeley, it said on Tuesday. Amazon has plans to add the program to more sites by the end of the year.

Shoppers on Amazon&#39;s mobile app can select from several hundred fast-selling items at each location, from snacks and drinks to phone chargers. Amazon employees in a back room then load orders into lockers within two minutes, and customers receive bar codes to access them.

The e-commerce company, which said in June it would buy Whole Foods Market for $13.7 billion, has come to realise that certain transactions like buying fresh produce are hard to shift online. Its Instant Pickup program targets another laggard, impulse buys.

&quot;I want to buy a can of coke because I&rsquo;m thirsty,&quot; said Ripley MacDonald, Amazon&#39;s director of student programs. &quot;There&rsquo;s no chance I&rsquo;m going to order that on Amazon.com and wait however long it&rsquo;s going to take for that to ship to me.&quot;

&quot;I can provide that kind of service here,&quot; he said of the new program.

Amazon&#39;s ability to shorten delivery times has been a sore point for brick-and-mortar retailers, who have struggled to grow sales as customers have turned to convenient online options. Until Instant Pickup, Amazon shoppers could expect their orders within an hour at best via the company&#39;s Prime Now program, or within 15 minutes for grocery orders via AmazonFresh Pickup.

&ldquo;This is a natural extension of their larger push into the grocery space,&rdquo; said Morningstar analyst RJ Hottovy, noting Instant Pickup could capture small purchases by consumers in between their larger shopping trips.

Instant Pickup also puts Amazon in competition with vending machine services. Yet it is unlikely to threaten those selling snack machines to offices and schools.

&quot;This might work for some electronic gadgets that are not commonly available at vending machines,&quot; said Forrester analyst Ananda Chakravarty. &quot;Two minutes is too long to wait for a soda can.&quot;

Since 2015, Amazon has opened 22 US locations for same-day pickup. The Instant Pickup program will rely on these same facilities, launching in Berkeley, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Columbus, Ohio and College Park, Maryland.

The world's largest online retailer has launched 'Instant Pickup' points around five college campuses

Amazon.com is rolling out US pickup points where shoppers can retrieve items immediately after ordering them, shortening delivery times from hours to minutes in its latest move into brick-and-mortar retail. The world's largest online retailer has launched 'Instant Pickup' points around five college campuses, such as the University of California at Berkeley, it said on Tuesday. Amazon has plans to add the program to more sites by the end of the year. Shoppers on Amazon's mobile app can select from several hundred fast-selling items at each location, from snacks and drinks to phone chargers. Amazon employees in a back room then load orders into lockers within two minutes, and customers receive bar codes to access them. The e-commerce company, which said in June it would buy Whole Foods Market for $13.7 billion, has come to realise that certain transactions like buying fresh produce are hard to shift online. Its Instant Pickup program targets another laggard, impulse buys. "I want to buy a can of coke because I’m thirsty," said Ripley MacDonald, Amazon's director of student programs. "There’s no chance I’m going to order that on Amazon.com and wait however long it’s going to take for that to ship to me." "I can provide that kind of service here," he said of the new program. Amazon's ability to shorten delivery times has been a sore point for brick-and-mortar retailers, who have struggled to grow sales as customers have turned to convenient online options. Until Instant Pickup, Amazon shoppers could expect their orders within an hour at best via the company's Prime Now program, or within 15 minutes for grocery orders via AmazonFresh Pickup. “This is a natural extension of their larger push into the grocery space,” said Morningstar analyst RJ Hottovy, noting Instant Pickup could capture small purchases by consumers in between their larger shopping trips. Instant Pickup also puts Amazon in competition with vending machine services. Yet it is unlikely to threaten those selling snack machines to offices and schools. "This might work for some electronic gadgets that are not commonly available at vending machines," said Forrester analyst Ananda Chakravarty. "Two minutes is too long to wait for a soda can." Since 2015, Amazon has opened 22 US locations for same-day pickup. The Instant Pickup program will rely on these same facilities, launching in Berkeley, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Columbus, Ohio and College Park, Maryland.

Amazon launches 'Instant Pickup' for quick delivery in the US

Amazon announced on Monday plans to test delivery drone technology in Britain, as the US online commerce giant tries to advance the idea safely. 
 
The partnership aims to understand how drones can be used safely and reliably, and identify the regulations to put in place, it said in a statement. 
 
Amazon got British approval for three new types of tests: flying drones that are no longer within sight of their operators in rural and suburban areas; having one person operate several highly automated drones; and testing devices to make the drones able to identify and avoid obstacles. 
 
&quot;Britain is a leader in enabling drone innovation; we&#39;ve been investing in Prime Air research and development here for quite some time,&quot; said Paul Misener, Amazon&#39;s Vice President of Global Innovation Policy and Communications. 
 
&quot;This announcement strengthens our partnership with the UK and brings Amazon closer to our goal of using drones to safely deliver parcels in 30 minutes to customers in the UK and elsewhere around the world.&quot; 
 
Last month, the US Federal Aviation Administration unveiled long-awaited new rules that clear the way for small, commercial drones to operate across US airspace. 
 
Under the FAA&#39;s rules, drone operators will be allowed to fly commercial craft weighing less than 55 pounds (25 kilograms) during daylight hours, provided they can maintain a clear view of the drone at all times. 
 
While that effectively precludes the sort of robo-delivery services being developed by Amazon and other major vendors, the new rules will nonetheless ensure drones become increasingly commonplace in the skies. 
 
The White House cites industry estimates suggesting drones could generate more than $82 billion for the US economy over the coming decade, creating some 100,000 jobs. 
 
(AFP)

Amazon got British approval for three new types of tests. It is trying to advance the idea safely so that the drones can be used reliably

Amazon announced on Monday plans to test delivery drone technology in Britain, as the US online commerce giant tries to advance the idea safely. The partnership aims to understand how drones can be used safely and reliably, and identify the regulations to put in place, it said in a statement. Amazon got British approval for three new types of tests: flying drones that are no longer within sight of their operators in rural and suburban areas; having one person operate several highly automated drones; and testing devices to make the drones able to identify and avoid obstacles. "Britain is a leader in enabling drone innovation; we've been investing in Prime Air research and development here for quite some time," said Paul Misener, Amazon's Vice President of Global Innovation Policy and Communications. "This announcement strengthens our partnership with the UK and brings Amazon closer to our goal of using drones to safely deliver parcels in 30 minutes to customers in the UK and elsewhere around the world." Last month, the US Federal Aviation Administration unveiled long-awaited new rules that clear the way for small, commercial drones to operate across US airspace. Under the FAA's rules, drone operators will be allowed to fly commercial craft weighing less than 55 pounds (25 kilograms) during daylight hours, provided they can maintain a clear view of the drone at all times. While that effectively precludes the sort of robo-delivery services being developed by Amazon and other major vendors, the new rules will nonetheless ensure drones become increasingly commonplace in the skies. The White House cites industry estimates suggesting drones could generate more than $82 billion for the US economy over the coming decade, creating some 100,000 jobs. (AFP)

Amazon to conduct drone delivery tests in the UK

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Amazon launches 'Instant Pickup' for quick delivery in the US

Amazon to conduct drone delivery tests in the UK