Amazon Deploys 15-Minute Delivery in Brazil Expansion

Amazon will soon begin rolling out a 15-minute delivery service for select goods in Brazil, saying the country is one of its top priorities, Reuters reported Tuesday (March 3).

The service, Amazon Now, was launched in Sao Paulo on Tuesday, will expand to seven other Brazilian cities by Monday (March 9), and will later expand to more cities, according to the report.

Amazon Now delivers groceries and other essentials. In Brazil, the service is free to members of Amazon Prime, available for 5.49 reais (about $1.04) to nonmembers, and will be offered in partnership with delivery app Rappi, the report said.

“Brazil has become a priority among the countries in which Amazon invests in the world,” country head Juliana Sztrajtman told Reuters.

It was reported in September that Amazon invested a $25 million convertible note in Rappi, a Colombia-based company that provides last-mile delivery of groceries and restaurant meals in Latin America.

The report said Amazon often uses warrants to make direct investments in partners so it can increase its gains if its business helps grow its partner’s sales.

The PYMNTS Intelligence report “How the World Does Digital” found that Brazil has emerged as the global leader in digital engagement among its consumers. Among the countries included in the report, Brazil had the highest number of days in which consumers engaged in digital activity.

PYMNTS reported in February that in other countries, Amazon Now offers 30-minute delivery of everyday essentials, fresh groceries and locally in-demand items. Amazon recently expanded the service in India, Mexico and the United Arab Emirates, and began testing it in the United States and the United Kingdom.

When Amazon announced in December that it was testing 30-minute delivery in parts of Philadelphia and Seattle, the company said it was using smaller facilities that are designed for efficient order fulfillment and strategically placed close to customers’ homes and workplaces.

“The company’s speed improvements come primarily from placing products closer to customers,” the company said at the time in a press release. “The teams picking, packing and driving to customers’ homes are doing the exact same work for orders that arrive the same or next day as orders that used to arrive in two or more days.”