When Amazon Prime Now debuted in 2014, it granted Manhattan-based Prime subscribers a new level of shopping convenience with local delivery in under two hours with the Prime Now mobile app. Nearly two years later, Amazon Prime Now can also be accessed via a dedicated website, and it now lets you purchase goods in several metropolitan areas across the United States. With it, you get fast delivery and a few cool features that you don't get when you order from Amazon.com, but the convenience is counterbalanced by a limited catalog.

The Prime Directive

If you're not familiar with Amazon Prime Now, it's a perk you get with a $99-per-year Amazon Prime membership, and it promises to deliver your purchases from nearby Amazon warehouses within a two-hour window. In select areas, you can shorten the delivery time to one hour if you pay an additional $7.99. That's not too shabby if you're feeling lazy and don't want to leave the crib for a pint of ice cream. Speaking of eating, you can receive food orders directly from select shops such as Eataly and Gourmet Garage within a one-hour timeframe—at least if you're in Manhattan, which is where I tested the service. 

When it comes to lightning-quick food deliveries in my area, Amazon's biggest potential competitor is FreshDirect and its FoodKick app, which promises to deliver grub (including ingredients, complete meals, and booze) to Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Long Island City, within a one-hour period. We haven't tested FoodKick yet, but we're planning to soon. Restaurant delivery services like Seamless and ingredient subscription plays like BlueApron aren't quite direct Prime Now competitors, but they definitely appeal to the same users and no doubt compete for the same dollars.

Prime Now is also available in 24 other US metropolitan areas, including Atlanta, Brooklyn, Indianapolis, Manhattan, and the San Francisco Bay Area. You can key in your ZIP code to see if Prime Now is available in your area.