Matt Bullock
08 July 2010
Amazon UK has expanded its online retail outlet to offer something new to consumers: groceries.
The ecommerce giant will soon offer spices, snacks and other groceries from companies like PepsiCo, Kraft, Proctor & Gamble and Eurofoods to UK customers. In fact, the online store will offer 22,000 brands at its launch, and expects to expand quickly.
James Leeson, the director of grocery at Amazon.co.uk, said that the company's online venture will be aided by "virtually unlimited shelf space" and the option of free delivery.
"We will work tirelessly to increase the selection of grocery items available to be delivered directly to customers' doors," Leeson told the Daily Mail.
Some items, such as cooking oils, spices, nappies, rice and washing powders, will be available in discounted bulk shipments with Amazon's standard delivery options. Perishables like fresh produce and meat are limited, available through the site's third party marketplace.
In addition to a wide selection of traditional foods, the online shopper will also have the option to fill his or her online shopping cart with specialty goods that are not available in mainstream storms. Examples of such products include pheasant, quail and artisan cheeses.
Amazon has been successful at luring away many of the more traditional supermarkets' suppliers, who feel that they have not been treated properly by the UK's 'big four' supermarkets.
Amazon launched in Britain in 1998, primarily as a bookseller. The launch of an online grocer now puts the site in direct competition with established grocery sites such as Ocada and Tesco.
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