The technology fueling Amazon’s high-speed delivery

Amazon is on track to deliver at its fastest speeds ever for Prime members globally in 2025, with more total items arriving the same or next day than ever before. Through a combination of technological innovation, strategic facility placement, and specialized delivery methods, the company is setting new standards for speed and convenience.

Here are eight ways Amazon is innovating to deliver quickly for customers.

1. Adding items to upcoming deliveries

Hands holding smartphone displaying Amazon online shopping app with Add to today's delivery feature

With a single tap, Prime members can now instantly add eligible items from across Amazon—everything from pantry staples to pet toys, electronics, clothing, books, and more—to upcoming deliveries. This new feature, “Add to Delivery,” makes shopping on the Amazon Shopping app or Amazon.com on mobile devices even more convenient. To date, customers have used this exciting new feature more than 50 million times.

2. Bringing fast delivery to rural America

Amazon Prime delivery van parked in front of rural Trading Post store

Amazon is investing over $4 billion to triple the size of its delivery network by the end of 2026, with a special focus on small towns and rural communities. The company is expanding Same-Day and Next-Day delivery to over 4,000 smaller cities and towns by the end of 2025, transforming how rural customers shop online. This expansion includes transforming existing rural delivery stations into hybrid hubs that store inventory on-site, enabling delivery within hours.

3. Using AI to predict customer demand

Advanced machine learning algorithms help Amazon predict which items will be popular with local customers, allowing the company to stock products closer to where they’ll be needed. This AI-powered inventory placement means more orders can ship from a single local site, reducing transportation distance and enabling faster delivery.

4. Delivering medications within hours (and minutes through kiosks)

Amazon Pharmacy has launched Same-Day Delivery of prescription medications in over a dozen major cities including New York, Los Angeles, Austin, Indianapolis, Miami, Phoenix, Greater Detroit, and Seattle, with plans to expand to nearly 50% of U.S. customers by the end of 2025. The service uses small-format pharmacies stocked with commonly prescribed medications and integrated into Amazon’s logistics network. It also recently announced kiosks to deliver medications within minutes of an appointment at One Medical offices, beginning in Los Angeles this year.

5. Using specialized delivery vehicles for different environments

Amazon customizes its delivery methods based on local conditions: E-cargo bikes deliver packages quickly through congested streets in dense cities like Amsterdam or Munich, and make up the majority of Amazon Fresh and Whole Foods Market grocery deliveries in Manhattan. Rivian’s custom electric delivery vans are across the U.S. and Germany, mules travel across rocky terrain in the Grand Canyon, drones bring customers their orders in Arizona, and wooden boats bring supplies to shoppers on quiet islands off the Maine coast. This tailored approach helps ensure fast delivery in each environment.

6. Building sustainable Same-Day Delivery sites

Amazon is demonstrating that speed and sustainability can go hand in hand: A Same-Day Delivery site in Sacramento, California, became North America’s first fulfillment center to earn Zero Carbon Certification from Living Future. The facility delivers packages to customers within five hours while incorporating sustainability initiatives like all-electric HVAC systems, white roofs that reduce energy use, and solar panel infrastructure that, once fully installed and operational, is expected to generate up to 80% of the building’s electricity.

7. Streamlining pharmacy operations with robotics and AI

Automated Amazon Pharmacy bottle cap assembly process

Amazon Pharmacy uses AI and robotics to speed up prescription processing. Generative AI helps clarify and validate information from handwritten or online prescriptions, while robotic arms assist in filling, labeling, and sending prescriptions for pharmacist inspection—reducing handling time from three minutes to just 30 seconds. This technology allows pharmacists to focus on patient care rather than administrative tasks, contributing to faster medication delivery.

8. Expanding Same-Day perishable grocery delivery

Amazon has also expanded Same-Day Delivery to include perishable grocery items, allowing customers to receive fresh produce and other temperature-sensitive items like dairy, meat, seafood, and other frozen foods alongside other Amazon purchases—all delivered within hours. The company’s specialized temperature-controlled fulfillment network ensures fresh, high-quality items through a six-point quality check and insulated, recyclable packaging for temperature-sensitive products.

Next, learn about Amazon’s newest innovation: Smart glasses designed to enhance the delivery experience.