AmazonFresh has arrived in the UK - here's how it works

Fresh

AmazonFresh, the company's fresh grocery delivery service, has launched in the UK. Amazon Prime customers in select London locations will now be able to use the service which has been running in the US since 2007.

While the initial rollout is small, it's obviously still bad news for competing UK supermarkets such as Tesco, ASDA and Sainsbury's, which also offer online shopping.

So, are you eligible to use Amazon Fresh? How does it work? And is it any good? Let us break it down for you.

Can I get AmazonFresh?

Right now, AmazonFresh is only available in parts of central and east London.

69 postcodes are currently eligible for the service, and although Amazon hasn't published a list of all of them, you can easily find out if you're Fresh-compatible by visiting the website.

While only a relatively small number of people can use Fresh right now, have no doubt that Amazon will roll this out more widely in the future, first across London and then to other cities.

What's included?

Fresh gives you access to meat, seafood, fresh fruit and vegetables, dairy, bakes good, and a range of home supplies. Amazon has partnered with supermarket Morrisons and says it will offer around 130,000 products as part of the service.

Fresh

Wait, isn't this Amazon Pantry?

Good observation, but no. While Pantry does indeed let you order food and household items to your doorstep, the key word that differentiates the two services is "fresh".

If you want fresh fruit, vegetables, meat and seafood, you'll only get those through AmazonFresh.

How much does it cost, and is it worth it?

AmazonFresh will cost an additional £6.99 per month for existing Prime members - a membership that costs £79 a year, we should add.

Same-day deliveries for orders over £40 are free, otherwise you'll have to pay a £4 delivery fee.

As a sweetner, Amazon is offering a free 30-day trial to Prime subscribers – just remember to cancel it if you don't want to keep using it after the trial period.

As for the prices of the food itself, so far they look pretty decent. A 500ml tub of Ben & Jerry's Half Baked ice cream costs £2.50, while it's £3.85 to order from Sainsbury's and £4 from Tesco.

When does Amazon Deliver?

Amazon is offering one-hour delivery slots between 7am and 11pm, seven days a week, so it's pretty flexible. It's also offering same-day delivery to arrive from 5pm if you place your order by 1pm.

Hugh Langley

Hugh Langley is the ex-News Editor of TechRadar. He had written for many magazines and websites including Business Insider, The Telegraph, IGN, Gizmodo, Entrepreneur Magazine, WIRED (UK), TrustedReviews, Business Insider Australia, Business Insider India, Business Insider Singapore, Wareable, The Ambient and more.


Hugh is now a correspondent at Business Insider covering Google and Alphabet, and has the unfortunate distinction of accidentally linking the TechRadar homepage to a rival publication.