Packages on a conveyor belt at an Amazon fulfilment center in Dartford, UK, on Monday, July 7, 2025.
Jason Alden | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Amazon on Tuesday launched a new ultrafast delivery service in the United Arab Emirates that can ferry groceries, cosmetics, electronics and other household items to shoppers in 15 minutes or less.
The service is called Amazon Now and includes a range of “everyday essentials,” the company said in a release.
Amazon said orders can be placed “24/7” and are shipped out via micro-fulfillment centers, or small-format warehouses, located in UAE neighborhoods. Each site’s product selection is tailored “based on hyperlocal demand,” the company said.
Some locations can receive deliveries in as little as six minutes, Amazon said.
The launch in the UAE marks an expansion of Amazon Now, which debuted in Bangalore and New Delhi earlier this year. Amazon Now will compete with established “quick commerce” players like Zepto, Swiggy and Blinkit in India, as well as Noon and Careem in the UAE.
Amazon has built up a sprawling in-house logistics and fulfillment network over the past several years that’s given it increasingly greater control over delivery speeds.
The company is delivering more items the same or next day after making two-day delivery the standard, and it’s also launching delivery drones in some pockets of the U.S. and Europe, which are capable of dropping off some items in 30 minutes or less.
A wave of instant delivery startups took hold in the U.S. in recent years, promising to drop items at shoppers’ doorsteps in 15 minutes or less, but many of them were acquired or shut down, such as Russia-born Buyk or Fridge No More, while Turkey’s Getir exited the U.S. last year.
Prime members get free delivery for Amazon Now orders that are above $6 (AED 25), while orders below that threshold will incur a delivery fee of about $1 (AED 6).
