Holiday 2021: Amazon offers fast shipping, delivery, and returns

Prime members in the U.S. can shop from over 15 million items—the largest next-day selection of any retailer in the U.S.—available for Prime Free One-Day Delivery with no minimum purchase, including electronics and toys, home, fashion, and everything needed this holiday season. In thousands of cities and towns across 47 major metropolitan areas, Prime members can shop for millions of items available for Same-Day Delivery. For those needing their orders even faster, Prime members in 21 metro areas can shop over 3 million "need-it-now" items available for delivery—from click to doorstep—in as fast as five hours. Enjoy these fast and free delivery benefits (plus so much more) by signing up for a 30-day free trial of Prime.

These delivery options are convenient for customers and better for the planet because One-Day and Same-Day deliveries ship from local fulfillment centers, travel shorter distances, and generate fewer carbon emissions. Learn more about Amazon's delivery options.

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Many families celebrate the holidays over a shared, special meal—and Amazon is here to help. Amazon offers two-hour delivery on more than 170,000 products from Whole Foods Market and Amazon Fresh for Prime members in more than 5,000 cities and towns across the country.

With Amazon Fresh, Prime members get free two-hour delivery, plus free grocery pickup at select Amazon Fresh stores on orders over $35. Prime members can also find toys, gifts, household products, and everyday essentials, along with electronics, Amazon devices, and more items on Amazon Fresh. Prime members can also get free one-hour pickup on orders over $35 at all U.S. Whole Foods Market locations.

To order, Prime members simply open the Amazon app or visit www.amazon.com and select the Whole Foods Market or Amazon Fresh tab in the top menu. Customers then choose their location for delivery, or they can change to pickup and select a local store nearby. Once a customer is ready to check out, they select the most convenient delivery or pickup window and place their order. For pickup, customers check in using the Amazon app when they arrive at the store and follow the instructions to get their order. Customers can see which services are available in their area and start shopping.

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Have you ever wanted to run an errand but worried you'd miss a package delivery? Or maybe you want to intercept and wrap a gift for your loved one before they discover it sitting at the front door. To help, Amazon has a number of ways to make it easy for customers to know when and where they will receive their deliveries.

To track a package when it's out for delivery, customers can take advantage of Amazon Map Tracking. When the driver is close, customers can view the driver's progress on a map in real time. Customers can also see how many stops a driver has to make before arriving at their home. Amazon Map Tracking is a helpful tool for customers to grab any packages off the front porch right after they arrive.

Whether it's a gift or not, customers can send tracking information to friends and family with Amazon Share Tracking. Once a package ships, customers can visit "Your Orders" on the Amazon shopping app, select their purchased item, and click "Share Tracking" on the tracking page. Customers can then easily send a link with the tracking information via text, email, or messaging apps such as WhatsApp. If the customer marked the item as a gift during checkout, Amazon Share Tracking allows the recipient to virtually unbox the item, send a thank-you email, and take advantage of other features—right from the Amazon app.

When receiving deliveries—especially during the holidays—it's important that customers can find their packages before anyone else sees them. Amazon Photo on Delivery provides visual confirmation of a delivery. The feature sends customers a photo of their delivered package that shows where the package was placed. Amazon Photo on Delivery also serves as a notification to customers who wish to minimize the time a package is left unattended.

For busy customers with a packed holiday schedule, Amazon Estimated Delivery Window provides a two- to four-hour estimated delivery window to help busy customers plan their day. Customers no longer need to worry about not being home when a package arrives. If they are running an errand, they have a better idea of when to return home to receive their delivery.

All of these tracking features are available in the U.S. for packages delivered by Amazon delivery drivers and Delivery Service Partners. Customers can access these convenient features—each of which are powered by innovative technology—from the Amazon app on iOS or Android by enabling shipment notifications.

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Amazon offers a variety of pickup options at places customers already visit. Grocery stores, gas stations, shopping malls, and other locations make up a network of easy, convenient, and secure package pickup options. Each location offers customers either a staffed Amazon Counter or contactless pickup with Amazon Locker, which helps keep gifts a surprise from loved ones at home.

Package pickup is available for tens of millions of items sold on Amazon.com—at no additional cost—with the same fast shipping as home delivery, including free Same-Day, One-Day, and Two-Day shipping for Prime members. Non-Prime members can get free shipping for orders over $25; otherwise, standard shipping rates apply.

Also, if customers select Amazon 4-star or Amazon Books as their delivery location, they can enjoy shopping for even more great gifts and holiday deals while picking up their Amazon.com order. Prime members can get free Same-Day shipping to these delivery locations with no minimum purchase amount required.

To pick up an order from a physical Amazon retail store, locker, or counter location, customers can choose the most convenient option at checkout. Once their order arrives at the pickup point, customers can visit their selected location, follow simple instructions in the confirmation email, and collect their package. Customers have between three and seven days to pick up their order, depending on the location.

Find a physical Amazon retail store or a secure package pickup location.

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Another convenient way for Prime members to keep their gifts under wraps is Amazon Key In-Garage Delivery. Whether home or away, eligible Prime members with a myQ smart garage door opener or myQ Smart Garage Control can receive packages conveniently and securely inside their garage—without sharing a garage code. Setting up In-Garage Delivery is easy. Customers simply link their Amazon and myQ accounts in the Amazon Key App or myQ App, and then enable In-Garage Delivery. Once they're set up, they add their holiday gifts to their Amazon cart and select "Free Key Delivery" at checkout. The delivery driver will then leave the items inside the customer's garage.

When delivering customer items, drivers receive one-time verified access to their garage by scanning the package. Once the items are safely inside, the driver closes the door behind them to complete the delivery. For added security and peace of mind, customers can opt-in to receive notifications in the Amazon Key app when their items have shipped, are out for delivery, and after the garage has been closed. Plus, they can watch the delivery in real time with a compatible camera.  Learn more about how to sign up for Amazon Key In-Garage Delivery.

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Sometimes an item—whether a gift or not—just isn't right. Perhaps it's a sweater that's not the right style, a duplicate of an already owned kitchen appliance, or a home decoration that doesn't quite work. When this happens, customers can easily return their order through a variety of convenient options.

Customers can buy with confidence knowing that millions of items on Amazon.com are eligible for free and convenient returns at more than 60,000 locations in the U.S. Amazon also offers fast and easy returns without a box or a label at over 7,000 locations, including Amazon Books, Amazon 4-star, Fresh Grocery, Amazon Go Stores, Whole Foods Market, UPS Store locations, and Kohl's stores. The network makes it even easier for customers to check returns off their holiday to-do list. Customers simply need to bring the item and the QR code generated after starting their return to their selected return drop-off location—no box, no label, no fuss.

Customers unsure if they want to keep that sweater or picture frame they received as a gift can take their time, because this year's return window is even longer. Most items purchased between October 1 and December 31, 2021, have an extended return window with returns available until January 31, 2022.

Once a customer is ready to start a return, the process is simple and convenient. Customers select the item or items to be returned and the reason for returning from the "Returns & Orders" page on Amazon.com or under "Your Orders" via the Amazon app. Customers can then choose from a list of convenient return options, including at least one free option, and then drop off their item at a nearby location. Most refunds are issued within a few hours of drop off.

See Amazon's full list of return policies.