Amazon rekindles third-party grocery delivery in launch with Cardenas Markets

A same-day delivery partnership with Latino grocer Cardenas Markets may be a sign that Amazon is resurrecting third-party online grocery delivery service.

Ontario, Calif.-based Cardenas said yesterday two-hour delivery via Amazon is now available at stores in Indio, Pomona, Murrieta and Pittsburgh, Calif., as well as Las Vegas, with plans to roll out the service to more stores next year.

To use the service, Cardenas customers who are Amazon Prime members and live in neighborhoods where same-day delivery is offered can shop online with the grocer at Amazon.com/cardenas or through the Amazon.com shopping app. Cardenas associates pick and pack the orders at the designated store, and Amazon delivers the groceries to customers using Amazon Flex drivers.  

Cardenas and Amazon are supporting the service launch with a promotion of 15% off a $50 purchase for new customers.

Cardenas customers who are Prime members and live in areas where same-day delivery is offered can shop online with the grocer at Amazon.com/cardenas or through the Amazon.com shopping app.

“This new offering with Amazon demonstrates Cardenas Markets’ robust e-commerce efforts, and in the coming months this offering will be available in more locations throughout our geographical footprint,” Adam Salgado, chief marketing officer at Cardenas, said in a statement. “We are consistently looking for ways to make the Cardenas Markets shopping experience even more convenient and accessible for our customers.”

Related:Cardenas Markets to merge with Tony’s Fresh Market in Apollo acquisition

Overall, Cardenas operates 65 stores in California, Nevada and Arizona under the banners Cardenas Markets (51 locations), Los Altos Ranch Markets (seven), Rio Ranch Markets (five) and Cardenas Ranch Markets (one).

Cardenas said the two-hour Amazon delivery service carries a flat fee but didn’t disclose the fee. An Amazon spokesperson said the company works with each delivery partner to determine the fee to operate and fulfill delivery.

Amazon marks Cardenas’ fifth on-demand delivery partner. The grocer in March said it expanded Uber Eats delivery to all of its stores. Last October, Cardenas announced that it launched DoorDash delivery from all of its stores, which came a month after the chain unveiled a partnership with Target Corp.’s Shipt for same-day delivery service through all stores. The retailer also has offered Instacart delivery since December 2020.

According to the Amazon spokesperson, the delivery launch with Cardenas represents Amazon’s first U.S. grocery partner delivery offering since the Seattle-based company integrated its Prime Now program into Amazon.com in 2021.

“To date, depending on the customer’s location, we’ve offered delivery from a range of third-party retailers, including Bristol Farms, Bartell Drugs and Pet Food Express, who’ve all partnered with us for more than five years,” the Amazon spokesperson said in the e-mail.

Related:Cardenas Markets is first Hispanic grocer to accept EBT SNAP payments online

Additional delivery partnerships with retailers are in the offing. “I don’t have details to share on future plans today, but we look forward to working with more retailers to continue growing our third-party delivery efforts,” the spokesperson said.

Amazon had announced in May 2021 that it planned to retire the seven-year-old Prime Now same-day delivery program and fold the service, including online grocery delivery and pickup, into its mainline website and mobile app — a move that the company said would enhance the online shopping experience.

Prime Now was launched in December 2014 to provide Amazon Prime members one-hour delivery on tens of thousands of daily essential items — including food, groceries and nonfood items — through the Prime Now mobile app. The service was extended to groceries from Whole Foods, acquired by Amazon in August 2017, beginning in February 2018 and steadily expanded to more of the chain’s stores over the next year or so, providing free two-hour delivery (and later store pickup) for orders of $35 or more.

Then in late October 2019, Amazon Fresh perishables delivery became a free service under Prime customer benefits program. With the move, Amazon essentially made same-day, online grocery delivery a free service for Prime members placing orders of $35 or more. Amazon’s Prime Now and Prime Pantry programs had already offered members free delivery for that order minimum.