Mom ordered. Toddler approved.
Last Thursday, Amazon announced the New York City launch of its grocery service, Amazon Fresh. The service is only available in Park Slope, Brooklyn, to start and will expand to other neighborhoods later, although no timeline has been released. At the moment, the service is free to Park Slopers who are already members of Amazon Prime (which costs $99 a year). In 2015, members will have to upgrade to a $299 service to continue using Prime Fresh.
The service, similar to Fresh Direct, another online grocery store, allows members to order their groceries online and select a delivery window over the next couple of days. (If you order before 10 a.m., Fresh Direct will deliver your groceries the same day.) Before its New York City launch, Amazon Fresh was only available in Seattle and select California locations.
For consumers the lure is fast delivery. Amazon Fresh offers a one hour delivery window.
The groceries come in a reusable shopping tote with a reusable hard cooler inside for many of the cold and frozen items. Amazon picks up the reusable totes at the time of the next delivery. If you do not order again, you can request a tote pickup.
The bottom line: This is a grocery delivery service for eco-conscious consumers.
—By CNBC's Alexandra Privitera & Mary Stevens.