Amazon Promises 30-Minute Delivery So You Can Ruin Your Day Faster

KEY POINTS

•Amazon launched 'Amazon Now' on Monday, offering 30-minute delivery tests in Seattle and Philadelphia.
•The service covers thousands of essentials from diapers to electronics, picked and packed swiftly before Flex drivers take off.
•Walmart delivers within three hours to 95% of US homes, using its network of 4,600+ stores.
•Supply chain consultant Ralph Asher highlighted 15-minute delivery would need dozens of fulfillment centers and massive resources.

Amazon just announced 'Amazon Now,' aiming to deliver thousands of essentials in under 30 minutes from Seattle and Philadelphia warehouses where workers backstage hustle and hand off orders to Flex drivers expected to bolt within 2 minutes. Meanwhile, Walmart flexes its 4,600+ stores delivering within 3 hours to 95% of US households, boasting Black Friday’s fastest delivery: a Shark Steam & Scrub Mop to Utah. Amazon’s June move added 4,000 smaller communities to same-day service, but supply chain guru Ralph Asher calculated 15-minute city-wide delivery would need 31 fulfillment centers just in Minneapolis—because apparently, teleportation hasn’t hit prime time yet. Asher warns more equipment, inventory, and eager drivers with no social life are the price of impatience.