SEATTLE, WA - Is Amazon thinking of launching a full-fledged foodservice delivery program? Though the answer to this question remains unclear, Eater reported that the e-tailer has rolled out a restaurant delivery pilot in its hometown of Seattle, Washington.
The news source revealed last week that “Amazon is quietly running an ad hoc free restaurant delivery service using drivers and vehicles that are no longer shuttling its corporate employees around.” The service only spans the restaurants that share the same building as Amazon, including eateries like Mamnoon Street and Marination—which Eater noted could be helpful in decreasing costs for restaurant tenants.
In addition to helping restaurant operators, the pilot also provides an opportunity for MV Transportation, the third-party company that drives Amazon employees to their destinations, to expand its own services. Once orders are placed with the restaurants, the pilot then works like other delivery offerings available in the market.
Though Eater speculated that Amazon’s latest move appears to be a “temporary offering for local businesses struggling during the COVID-19 pandemic and, not, say, a precursor to a full-on Grubhub-like app,” AndNowKnow will continue to trail the e-tail giant as it expands its operations and introduces new innovations to the market.
