AmazonFresh Expands To Boston

Amazon isn’t afraid of putting the pedal to the medal when a new product catches fire with consumers, but it’s equally capable of exhibiting caution when the situation calls for it. The 18-month-long break between AmazonFresh expansions falls in the latter, but recent news is certainly the former.

Boston is now the latest city to be graced with the AmazonFresh grocery delivery service, TechCrunch reported. Beantown joins San Francisco, San Diego, New York City, Philadelphia and London as the sixth city to come under the AmazonFresh umbrella, though in addition to city neighborhoods, users in some suburbs (Acton and Concord) seem to be able to order from the service as well.

The expansion comes months after Amazon has laid the groundwork for such a move in the Boston area. In addition to a new warehouse to the south in Fall River, Amazon has been leasing new refrigeration space just outside the state capital in Everett, The Boston Globe reported.

Though it may have taken longer to hit the AmazonFresh expansion bell again than most expected, the pains Amazon took to prepare the Boston area for such a move may prove to be the service’s saving grace in a few years’ time, Keith Anderson, vice president at eCommerce analytics consultancy Profitero, told Recode.

“I think the pace of rollout is almost a necessity and is gated by a lot of things, not the least of which is talent,” Anderson said. “In many ways, running a local online grocery market is like a mini business unit. It’s very different than a national model, where you have people at headquarters and they can manage everything.”