Amazon is reported to be consolidating its Prime Now and AmazonFresh businesses in a bid to drive efficiencies and avoid overlap between the two delivery services.
The move has already led to job losses at the e-commerce giant, with the Seattle Times reporting “several hundred” layoffs on 12 February, however the e-commerce giant continues to expand across the business.
Yahoo Finance reported that there has been increasing overlap between the company’s two delivery businesses, and a recent Morgan Stanley survey revealed that 48 per cent of Prime Now users already order grocery items with the service.
The merger won’t see either of the two brands removed but it looks like the teams behind the two delivery services will merge.
According to Business Insider, the same teams will manage logistics, while customers will be able to choose from a wider variety of delivery options and products.
One possibility is that Fresh, which covers fresh produce, will become a business delivery service, while Prime Now, which includes non-perishable groceries, becomes consumer-oriented.
The merger could also streamline the delivery of products from its Whole Foods business, which Amazon acquired last year, according to Yahoo Finance.
In the US, Prime Now has expanded to 12 metropolitan areas, and last week Amazon launched two-hour delivery from Whole Foods through the delivery service, encroaching further on the territory of Amazon Fresh.
“As part of our annual planning process, we are making headcount adjustments across the company – small reductions in a couple of places and aggressive hiring in many others,” an Amazon representative told Yahoo Finance in an email.
The move to merge Prime Now and Fresh is set for completion by the end of 2018.
