Amazon is moving closer to you.
City dwellers are already accustomed to the retail behemoth’s faster-than-lightening same-day and next-day delivery — but now, smaller towns and rural areas will get to feel the same thrill.
In in a surprise Prime Day announcement, the online giant said it would expand the speedy service to more than 4,000 new locations by year’s end.
Amazon’s focus on expanding into smaller towns “goes beyond speed,” the company said in a written statement.
“It’s about transforming daily life for rural customers, who typically live farther from brick-and-mortar retailers, have fewer product and brand choices, and face limited delivery options when shopping online.”
The expanded options will allow shoppers in smaller communities to access the Prime benefit of unlimited same-day free delivery when spending over $25 at checkout, as well as the option to shop Amazon’s everyday essentials, including affordable pantry items and household goods.
That includes dry goods like paper towels, diapers, dog food, oatmeal, nuts, snack packs, instant ramen, peanut butter, sodas, coffee pods and more.
“These items are speed-critical, and when customers need them, they often want them delivered as soon as possible,” Amazon said, adding that the same-day delivery for essentials will make it “easier than ever” for small town customers to stock up without an extra trip to the store.
In order to make this happen, Amazon is investing over $4 billion by the end of 2026 to triple the size of their delivery network, with a focus on small towns and rural communities.
They’ll also be transforming existing rural delivery stations into hybrid hubs that also stores inventory on site in order to enable same-day delivery within hours.
The company’s “rural expansion” will cover 13,000 zip codes — from North Padre Island, Tex. to Asbury, IA to Lewes, Del. and more.
Amazon shared that it had its “fastest-ever delivery speeds” in 2024, and they’re continuing to work on innovations that will allow them to deliver even faster in 2025.
“So far this year the number of items delivered the same or next day in the U.S. increased over 30% compared to the same period last year,” they said in the announcement.
