Amazon has made three significant updates to its delivery playbook that all work toward helping orders arrive quicker, with less friction and more predictability. Here are the headline features: a one-tap option for adding items to a package you already have on the way; same-day delivery, which now includes fresh groceries not from your regular cart; and same-day prescription delivery in select cities. Combined, they further cement Amazon’s hold on the last mile and shave friction from everyday shopping.
The company teased the push at its Delivering the Future event and says it’s engineering for its fastest Prime speeds yet. Here’s what’s new and why these features could affect how you order everything from batteries to berries to blood-pressure meds.
Add to Delivery Aggregates Orders With One Tap
There’s also a new Add to Delivery button, which means Prime members can drop more items into an order you’ve already scheduled, ensuring that all, or even more, of your purchases arrive in one box on the same day.
No more ordering a second batch and praying it arrives on time. Amazon says it’s been used over 50 million times, signaling that consolidation is better than scattershot shipments.
There’s a practical upside, beyond convenience: fewer boxes on the doorstep and fewer opportunities for porch piracy. According to Security.org, some 49 million Americans had a package stolen from their doorstep in the past year, suggesting that decreasing aggregate drop-offs can reduce exposure at a meaningful level and create delivery windows that are easier to manage.
Same-day now means fresh groceries in one basket
Amazon has mixed perishable groceries into the same-day experience you already use for regular goods. That means you can order Command Strips and strawberries in the same cart and have both just a few hours later, rather than leaping over to another grocery storefront or booking a new time slot.
To safeguard fresh goods, Amazon is turning to a temperature-controlled fulfillment network that includes 1- and 2-million-cubic-foot refrigerated buildings in chilled, ambient, and frozen regions. The result: produce, dairy, meat, seafood, and frozen foods arrive at your home with the same predictability they do toothpaste or phone chargers — without losing their just-out-of-the-supermarket freshness. For households, it condenses errands down to one checkout and one doorstep handoff.
Prescription Meds Delivered Same Day In Some Cities
Amazon Pharmacy is already filling same-day prescriptions in an expanding list of major metros including New York, Los Angeles, Austin, Indianapolis, Miami, Phoenix, Greater Detroit, and Seattle. The model marries the local pharmacy-type stocking of common medications with Amazon’s logistics network for direct-to-door delivery; it’s tailored to conditions in which urgency is an issue — antibiotics, inhalers, or a blood-pressure refill come to mind.
Behind the scenes, Amazon says it uses artificial intelligence and robotics to speed processing. Generative AI aids in understanding handwritten prescriptions and verifying orders, while robots support medication filling to minimize delays and errors. The company intends to scale up coverage significantly, aiming to cover about half the U.S. population as the network ramps up.
Why These Upgrades Matter for Shoppers and Delivery
Consolidation is more than just a nice-to-have feature. McKinsey has calculated that last-mile delivery can make up more than 50 percent of total shipping costs, and bundling orders onto denser routes cuts miles, labor, and packaging. That efficiency can mean shorter delivery windows and less environmental impact. Studies by transportation and sustainability organizations have found that smarter delivery route planning and a reduction in overall trips can lead to double-digit decreases in delivery emissions.
It’s a boon for shoppers, too: a cleaner doorstep, clearer ETAs, and one cart to rule them all. Impulse and fill-in grocery trips become much easier when the day’s fresh groceries are already flowing. Same-day prescriptions match pharmacy speed to that of on-demand retail, ideal for parents, caregivers, or patients with limited mobility.
How To Test The New Features on Your Next Order
To utilize Add to Delivery, simply place your order as you normally would and find the Add to Delivery option in Your Orders or on an eligible product page.
If your package hasn’t fully consolidated, you can add the item in with a tap and sidestep a second shipment.
To order same-day groceries, continue to shop the website or app as usual. Add produce, dairy, meat, and frozen goods as well as non-perishables to your cart and select a same-day window at checkout.
For prescriptions, see availability through Amazon Pharmacy. If your city is supported and your medication is in stock, you’ll see a same-day delivery option before you check out. As usual, eligibility depends on your location, inventory, and time of day.
The upshot: Amazon’s newest delivery upgrades are an effort to compress steps, shorten waiting times, and get more of what you want on the same truck during the same trip. If you want speed without the mess of multiple packages, this trio is worth a test drive.