The strategy: Amazon’s decision to fold perishable groceries into same-day delivery earlier this year is already showing results: In areas where the service is available, nine of the top 10 best-selling items sold via same-day delivery are perishables, a sign of strong shopper response.

The added convenience is boosting volumes and likely lifting order frequency, as customers gain confidence that if they toss avocados into their cart, they’ll arrive in time to make guacamole for dinner.

Zooming out: Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said earlier this year he is “very bullish” on the retailer’s grocery business.

• While the retailer’s physical stores segment—driven largely by Whole Foods Market—grew a healthy 7% in Q3, Amazon has been primarily focused on scaling its online grocery arm, which Jassy said grossed more than $100 billion in the past year, excluding Whole Foods and Amazon Fresh.
• Since Amazon first introduced perishables to same-day delivery, it has expanded availability to more than 2,300 cities and towns, with plans to push even further next year.

The broader context: Amazon is hardly alone in chasing rapid online grocery growth. Its biggest rivals, Walmart and Kroger, are leaning in as well.

• Walmart says it continues to gain grocery market share, helped by free grocery delivery for Walmart+ members.
• Kroger grew ecommerce sales 17% in Q3 and expects its online business to turn profitable next year.

All three are battling for share in a market that keeps expanding. US online grocery sales jumped 29% YoY in November to $12.3 billion, driven by a 12% rise in order frequency and an 11% increase in average order value, according to Brick Meets Click’s Grocery Shopper Survey.

Our take: Adding perishables to same-day delivery was a savvy way for Amazon to accelerate its online grocery business, which should continue as it enters new markets and speeds up fulfillment.

Driving customers to add perishables like bananas to their same-day order of AAA batteries can meaningfully increase customer lifetime value since Amazon has found that customers who add fresh groceries to same-day orders shop about twice as often as those who do not. That pattern aligns with Amazon’s broader finding that the more members tap into the full suite of Prime benefits—streaming on Amazon Video and Music, filling prescriptions through Amazon Pharmacy, ordering food delivery via their free membership to Grubhub+ membership, and relying on fast, free shipping—the more they spend over time. Nonmembers, by contrast, often keep spending flat or even pull back.

Go further: Read our US Grocery Ecommerce Benchmarks: Q4 2025