Amazon is offering a grocery delivery service called AmazonFresh, as a pilot program in the Seattle suburb of Mercer Island by invitation only. "It's up and running," says Amazon spokesperson Craig Berman. "People are ordering and trucks are delivering." He would not speculate, however, on when the program would be expanded. Berman also says that Amazon had received repeated requests for a grocery delivery service, which had prompted the venture.

Non perishable items, already sold on Amazon.com, will also be available through AmazonFresh. Delivery is free during the day if customers spend a minimum of USD50 whilst delivery for purchases below will be USD9.99. There are currently 12 trucks in place for deliveries. Customers will also have the option of picking up purchases at an assigned point.

In the past, there have been several similar online ventures from companies such as Web Van, HomeGrocer, ShopLink and Streamline, which have been forced to shut down or been taken over by larger companies after the concept failed to gain traction with the public. It may also be difficult to sustain given the very slim profit margins in the grocery industry. Forward to colleagues